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Scott McTominay may have kicked his last ball for Manchester United against Brighton yesterday.
The academy graduate has been the subject of huge transfer speculation this summer but to date, no club has met United’s €30 million (£25m) valuation.
Fulham had a £20 million bid rejected earlier in the summer but did not return with an improved offer after discovering that the player had little interest in joining them. His preference, it was said at the time, was Napoli.
That option seemed quite distant even though the Italian media were insisting that his agent had put all other clubs on hold as he agreed personal terms with the Serie A side.
The issue was that cash-strapped Neapolitans needed first to buy Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea and Billy Gilmour from Brighton and would not exceed a maximum of €20 million for the United man.
However, with Lukaku in the bag for a bargain €30 million, Antonio Conte’s priorities have changed. They had a healthy €25 million bid rejected in the week and it looks now as if they are set to return to complete the deal for McTominay.
According to this morning’s paper edition of Corriere dello Sport, “everything is on Scott McTominay.
“[Sporting director Giovanni] Manna’s English mission … did not end with Lukaku: yesterday the sporting director was still in England, on the trail of McT. Him, above all him.”
The outlet notes that McTominay was facing off against Gilmour yesterday and claimed that “Until a few days ago [Gilmour was] ahead of everyone and now is overtaken by his friend.
“In the end Gilmour won, 2-1 for his team, but the first favorite to reinforce Antonio Conte’s midfield is McTominay.”
CdS claims McTominay is waiting “with his suitcase in Manchester” and that “an agreement is close”.
“Napoli has targeted him with the absolute conviction of bringing him home,” the report continues. “The sporting director is working on both the agreement with United and the one with McT: they have to hurry, after all, also because there are five days left until the market deadline.
“It’s a deal worth around 30 million.”
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has also discussed the situation in his Daily Briefing this morning, claiming that Napoli’s “interest remains strong”, although he sees the Gilmour deal as more advanced and awaiting a medical.
“Let’s see how the conversation goes between Napoli and Man United in the next hours, in the next days,” Romano said.
While the guru is generally a more reliable source than CdS, the latter seem very clear in their claim that McTominay has overtaken Gilmour in the list of priorities.
This has a ring of truth to it as all major reports agree that the €25 million bid for McTominay was indeed lodged and it is not a huge leap to reach United’s magic number.
Conte knows the Premier League well and wants his man.
It seems likely therefore that for once, Romano is a step behind on the news and that Scott McTominay is very close to becoming a Napoli player, even if it means sacrificing the Gilmour deal to get him.
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2024-08-25 07:20:19
