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Scott McTominay has shared why he is blossoming at Serie A club Napoli but failed to shine at his boyhood club Manchester United.
Scott McTominay has opened up on how his spell at Manchester United was not so successful because of the way he was profiled by his coaches.
McTominay is currently enjoying life at Napoli under Antonio Conte, having had 11 goal involvements, since his £26 million million move from his boyhood club United.
The Scottish international has blossomed and is among the leading lights at Napoli, who are challenging for the Serie A title, as they are just three points behind leaders Inter Milan.
McTominay came through the academy at United and was promoted to the senior team in 2017 by then coach Jose Mourinho, who used him as s defensive midfielder or defender.
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However, McTominay insists he did not truly show his qualities in a United shirt because he was not used properly by his coaches as he feels he is a box-to-box midfielder.
“When I got into the first team, I was quite misprofiled in where I was playing,” McTominay told The Athletic.
“It wasn’t the fault of any coaches. My strengths have always been getting into the box, scoring goals, being a problem in there. But I was being used as a No.6, or as a centre-back, and that has never really been my game.”
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The midfielder, who made 250 appearances for United before leaving last summer, says it was always difficult to explain himself to coaches that he was being played out of position given the profile of players they had for the box-to-box role.
“When you’re playing for Manchester United and you’re 20, you can’t knock on the manager’s door and say that you expect to be playing at No.8 ahead of Paul Pogba. It’s not realistic. You have to know your place, and do what you’re asked to do,” he added.
“In the last few seasons, I began to get into the box a bit more, to score more goals, and then last year was my best one. They would always sign someone who wouldn’t necessarily be what people expected them to be.”
In his final years at United, McTominay had turned into a bit-part player but still became a key component, especially last season when the Red Devils limped to an eighth place finish, as he came up with a number of match-winning goals.
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However, that was not enough to convince his boyhood club to keep him as United opted to cash in on him although the transfer has now benefited the player more as he is being played in his best position while United still struggle on the pitch.
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