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Former Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay has been lauded by the Italian press over his first start for new club SSC Napoli.
After 255 appearances and 29 goals in the famous red shirt of United, academy graduate McTominay completed a late move to Italy last month.
The Scot has enjoyed a successful start to life after United as he scored two goals for Scotland on international duty at the start of the month and made his debut from the bench in a 4-0 victory over Cagliari.
He made his first start for his new side in a massive clash against Juventus last night which ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
Napoli’s sporting director, Giovanni Manna, has spoken of his pride in signing McTominay and he did not let anyone down with a solid showing in the middle of the park.
Sofascore gave him a rating of 7.1 as he played the full match in Turin.
He completed 81% of his passes and almost opened his account in a Napoli shirt as he had his side’s only shot on target, but Michele Di Gregorio was equal to it.
He progressed the ball forward successfully, completing his two dribble attempts and won half of his aerial and ground duels.
The capture of McTominay has sparked Napoli manager Conte into abandoning his famous five at the back and instead adopt a 4-3-3 formation.
Speaking to DAZN after the match he claimed, “the idea (to change tactics) came to me because on the last day of the transfer market we got McTominay and Gilmour, plus brought Folorunsho back into the squad. The midfield then became a pretty strong group of players and we had to make the most of that”.
The Italian media were also happy with what they saw from the former United man as Corriere dello Sport labelled him a “dominant all-rounder with physique, technique, and personality”.
McTominay continued to leave an impression on the Italian press when Gazzetta claimed “Napoli would hardly be able to do without the former United player.”
The biggest praise of all came from Calciomercato however as they announced that the Napoli fans had found themselves “a new idol”.
After suffering a rather large amount of abuse during his time in England, McTominay will hope that his performances continue to leave such a positive impression on an Italian audience.
He could well get the chance to start again in just four days time when his side take on Palermo in the cup.
Feature image Marco Luzzani via Getty Images
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2024-09-22 16:04:58
