| Scott McTominay | |
| Full Name: | Scott Francis McTominay[1] |
| Birth Date: | 8 December 1996[2] |
| Birth Place: | Lancaster, England |
| Height: | 6feet[3] |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Napoli |
| Clubnumber: | 8 |
| Youthyears1: | 2002–2017 |
| Youthclubs1: | Manchester United |
| Years1: | 2017–2024 |
| Clubs1: | Manchester United |
| Caps1: | 178 |
| Goals1: | 19 |
| Years2: | 2024– |
| Clubs2: | Napoli |
| Caps2: | 11 |
| Goals2: | 3 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2018– |
| Nationalteam1: | Scotland |
| Nationalcaps1: | 58 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 11 |
| Club-Update: | 11:28, 2 December 2024 (UTC) |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 23:45, 18 November 2024 (UTC) |
Scott Francis McTominay (born 8 December 1996) is a British professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Napoli and the Scotland national team.
McTominay is a graduate of Manchester United's youth academy and made his senior debut for the club in May 2017. He went on to make more than 200 appearances for the club, winning the FA Cup and the EFL Cup. In 2024, McTominay signed for Napoli in a £25.7 million transfer.
Born in England, McTominay qualifies to play for Scotland through his father. He made his senior international debut in March 2018, and represented the side at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.
McTominay was associated with the Manchester United academy from the age of five after attending the club's development centre in Preston.[4] Although central midfield was viewed as his most natural position, he moved into the attack after there was a lack of an "out-and-out" centre forward in the reserve team.[5] He signed his first professional contract in July 2013.[6]
He made seven appearances for the Under-18s between 2013 and 2015, but struggled due to his small size.[7] McTominay missed most of the 2014–15 season due to injuries relating to growth and development issues, growing 14 inches within two years.[8]
McTominay struggled again during the 2015–16 season, making 11 appearances across the Under-19s and Under-21s, but commanded a place in the team the following season with three goals in 21 games prior to his senior call-up.[7]
On 30 April 2017, McTominay was named on the substitutes bench for a match against Swansea City in the Premier League. He made his first Premier League appearance on 7 May, coming on as a substitute against Arsenal,[9] before starting Manchester United's final Premier League match of the season on 21 May, a 2–0 win at home to Crystal Palace.[10]
Ahead of the 2017–18 season, McTominay was named as a member of Manchester United's touring party for their pre-season tour of the United States, as well as for matches against Vålerenga and Sampdoria.[11] In the match against Vålerenga on 30 July 2017, McTominay came on as a substitute for Paul Pogba just after the hour mark, and 10 minutes later, he scored his first senior goal for the club – the third in a 3–0 win.[12] McTominay made his first appearance of the season against Burton Albion in the EFL Cup on 20 September 2017, replacing Marcus Rashford in the 64th minute, in a 4–1 victory.[13]
McTominay made his European debut on 18 October, against Benfica, coming on for Henrikh Mkhitaryan in injury-time, winning a free-kick and getting Luisão sent off before seeing out the 1–0 away win.[14] Two days later, McTominay signed a new contract with United, keeping him at the club until June 2021, with an option to extend for a further year.[15] He made his first start of the season on 24 October, in a 2–0 win over Swansea at Liberty Stadium in the EFL Cup fourth round.[16]
On 21 January 2019, McTominay signed a contract extension, keeping him at United until 2023, with the option of another year.[17] Replacing the injured Nemanja Matić, his first start of real significance under the management of Ole Gunnar Solskjær was against Liverpool on 24 February.[18] McTominay was praised by pundits and reporters for his contributions in Champions League matches against Paris Saint-Germain[19] and Barcelona.[20] He scored his first competitive goal for United on 2 April 2019 in what was his 41st appearance for the club as they lost 2–1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers.[21]
McTominay scored his first goal at Old Trafford in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal on 30 September 2019.[22] On 27 October, McTominay scored United's 2,000th Premier League goal in a 3–1 victory against Norwich City at Carrow Road.[23] McTominay was credited with another goal, scored against Brighton on 10 November, after United successfully appealed to a Premier League panel that it should not be designated as an own goal by Davy Pröpper.[24]
McTominay suffered a knee ligament injury on 26 December, which prevented him from playing for two months. He resumed full training on 19 February 2020.[25] On 27 February, McTominay scored his first European goal in United's UEFA Europa League Round of 32 second leg match against Club Brugge, with United winning 5–0 (6–1 on aggregate).[26] On 8 March, he scored United's second goal in a 2–0 win at home to Manchester City, shooting into an empty net from 40 yards after a mistake by goalkeeper Ederson, to help United to their first league double over their city rivals in a decade.[27]
On 23 June 2020, McTominay signed a new contract with Manchester United to keep him at the club until June 2025.[28]
On 30 September 2020, McTominay scored his first goal of the season as United won 3–0 against Brighton & Hove Albion in the EFL Cup.[29] On 20 December 2020, he scored his first league goals of the season, when he scored a brace inside 3 minutes in a 6–2 home win against Leeds United.[30] This was the first time in the history of the Premier League that a player had scored twice in the opening three minutes of a game.[31]
On 9 January 2021, McTominay became the stand-in captain in the FA Cup game against Watford and subsequently scored the only goal of the game inside five minutes as United won 1–0.[32]
On 2 February 2021, McTominay scored a goal in Manchester United's Premier League record-equalling 9–0 home win against Southampton.[33] Four days later, he followed this up by scoring in a 3–3 draw against Everton, making this his highest scoring season so far with six goals.[34]
On 30 December 2021, McTominay scored his first goal of the season when opened the scoring in a 3–1 win over Burnley.[35]
On 10 January 2022, McTominay scored a goal against Aston Villa to help Manchester United advance into the fourth round of the 2021–22 FA Cup.[36]
McTominay started games less frequently for United during the 2022–23 season than in previous years, following the signing of Casemiro as their first choice defensive midfielder.[37] He won his first senior trophy on 26 February 2023, appearing as a substitute in the second half of the 2023 EFL Cup final against Newcastle United.
On 7 October 2023, after coming on as a substitute in the 87th minute, McTominay scored twice in stoppage time to give United a 2–1 comeback win against Brentford.[38] On 29 November he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal away against Galatasaray in a 3–3 draw, before scoring a brace in the Premier League to beat Chelsea 2–1 the following week.
On 17 December, McTominay captained Manchester United for the first time in a Premier League match in a 0–0 draw with Liverpool at Anfield.[39]
On 11 February 2024, McTominay scored the winning goal in a 2–1 away win against Aston Villa at Villa Park.[40]
On 17 March 2024, McTominay scored the opening goal and assisted an extra-time equaliser from Marcus Rashford in a dramatic 4–3 win against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals.[41] In the following semi-final against Coventry City, McTominay scored again to give United a 1–0 lead in the 23rd minute.[42] In the FA Cup final, McTominay started as United beat rivals Manchester City 2–1.[43]
On 30 August 2024, McTominay ended a seven year run with Manchester United and joined Serie A club Napoli.[44] [45] The deal was reportedly worth £25.7 million.[46] On 26 September, he scored his first goal in a 5–0 win over Derby delle Due Sicilie rivals Palermo in the Coppa Italia.[47] On 4 October 2024, McTominay scored his first Serie A goal, scoring in just 25 seconds in a 3–1 win over Como.[48]
McTominay was born in England but qualifies for Scotland through his father, who is from Helensburgh.[49] [50] McTominay attended training camps with the Scottish youth sides. In November 2017, McTominay told Scottish Football Association performance director Malky Mackay that he wanted to concentrate on securing a place in the Manchester United first team.[51]
Speaking in February 2018, club manager José Mourinho suggested that new Scotland manager Alex McLeish should select McTominay "because it looks like England is missing him".[52] McTominay pledged his future to Scotland and was selected in their squad for two friendlies in March.[53] [54] Later that month, McTominay's grandfather said that Sir Alex Ferguson wanted him to represent Scotland. Manchester United academy coach Brian McClair explained "McLeish made a huge effort getting to Carrington to meet up with him, because it was in the middle of the bad weather that we had. He made it, put a case. Gareth Southgate sent him a text."[55] McTominay said of the conversation with McLeish, "He travelled a hell of a long way to come and speak with me and I have to thank him for that. The conversation we had was relatively simple. I wanted to play for Scotland and I always have done since I was a young boy and it was an incredibly proud moment for me when he did call me up and hopefully I can kick on and do well."[56]
On 23 March, McTominay was one of four players to be given their international debuts in McLeish's first game in charge.[57] He played the first 57 minutes in a 1–0 friendly defeat to Costa Rica before being replaced by Stuart Armstrong.[58] He made his first competitive appearance for Scotland in September 2018, as a 79th minute substitute for Callum McGregor in a 2–0 win against Albania. He was selected for international duty again in November 2019, but had to withdraw due to injury.[59]
For the international games played in September 2020, McTominay was used as a centre-back in a three-man defence by head coach Steve Clarke. The Times commented that McTominay had the physique needed for the position, but had struggled to adapt to the role.[60] He continued in this role during the October 2020 internationals, and the Daily Record said that there were indications that his play had improved.[61] He converted his penalties in the shootouts against Israel and in the final playoff against Serbia, helping Scotland qualify for UEFA Euro 2020, their first tournament in 23 years.
McTominay was named in the squad for the Euro 2020 finals.[62] He started all three Group D games against the Czech Republic, England and Croatia; however, Scotland failed to qualify for the knockout stages.
McTominay scored his first international goal on 9 October 2021, an injury-time winner against Israel in a 2022 World Cup qualifier.[63]
On 25 March 2023 McTominay scored two late goals in a 3–0 win over Cyprus in the first game of UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying.[64] Three days later he scored another brace in a 2–0 win over Spain, his country's first win against that opponent since 1984.[65] McTominay scored his fifth goal of the qualifying group during a 2–0 win against Georgia in June 2023.[66] He then scored the first goal in a 3–0 away win at Cyprus, while also providing an assist for fellow midfielder John McGinn. He ended the qualification phase as Scotland's top-scorer with seven goals.[67]
On 7 June 2024, McTominay was named in Scotland's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 finals in Germany.[68] A week later, he started the opening match of the tournament as Scotland lost 5–1 to hosts Germany;[69] it was his 50th international appearance (teammate Ryan Christie also reached the milestone).[70] On 19 June, he scored Scotland's goal (aided by a deflection from Fabian Schär) as they got their first point in a 1–1 draw in their second group match against Switzerland in Cologne.[71] Aside from Antonio Rüdiger's own goal in the opening game, Scotland scored no other goals in the tournament as they were defeated 1–0 by Hungary in their third group game, in which McTominay played all 90 minutes.[72]
Primarily a midfielder, McTominay started in a more defensive role earlier in his career for Manchester United, being utilised by José Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjær as a holding midfielder alongside Fred. Despite being enrolled in this position, McTominay is known for his ability to score goals from runs into the box, headers and volleys, as well as his physical defensive play and aerial ability.[73]
| Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Manchester United | 2016–17 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 16 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 22 | 2 | |||
| 2019–20 | Premier League | 27 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 37 | 5 | |||
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 32 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 0 | — | 49 | 7 | |||
| 2021–22 | Premier League | 30 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 37 | 2 | |||
| 2022–23 | Premier League | 24 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 1 | — | 39 | 3 | |||
| 2023–24 | Premier League | 32 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 43 | 10 | |||
| 2024–25 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 178 | 19 | 24 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 42 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 255 | 29 | |||
| Napoli | 2024–25 | Serie A | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 4 | ||||
| Career total | 189 | 22 | 25 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 42 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 267 | 33 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 2018 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 10 | 7 | ||
| 2024 | 11 | 3 | ||
| Total | 58 | 11 | ||
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each McTominay goal[74]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 October 2021 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | 27 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 2 | 25 March 2023 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | 38 | 2–0 | 3–0 | |||
| 3 | 3–0 | |||||||
| 4 | 28 March 2023 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | 39 | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | ||
| 5 | 2–0 | |||||||
| 6 | 20 June 2023 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | 41 | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | ||
| 7 | 8 September 2023 | AEK Arena, Larnaca, Cyprus | 42 | 1–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | ||
| 8 | 16 November 2023 | Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia | 46 | 1–1 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | ||
| 9 | 19 June 2024 | RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany | 51 | 1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2024 | ||
| 10 | 5 September 2024 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | 53 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A | ||
| 11 | 8 September 2024 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal | 54 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A |
Manchester United
2023–24;[75] runner-up: 2017–18,[76] 2022–23[77]
Individual