As Napoli Gains, Manchester United Loses More

Caught between pushing to keep Scott McTominay and letting him go, Manchester United ultimately chose the latter eight months back. With profit and sustainability rules to factor in, a reported €30.5 million ($35 million) for the midfielder, content to accept a new challenge at Napoli, won through. There were doubts about United’s call back then, and its loss is growing by the game.

The Scot’s impact in Italy has been nothing short of amazing. The city of Naples is obsessed with soccer. And, by extension, its greatest-ever star, Diego Maradona, so much so that it borders on worship. McTominay will never share the Argentine’s status, but he’s the modern craze—blonde-haired, with Superman vibes, and a different type of hero to those of the past.

McTominay has racked up 11 goals this season, more than any other central midfielder in Europe’s top leagues, according to WhoScored. While he’s not strictly a central player and is often virtually an attacker under coach Antonio Conte, that’s pretty good going. Scoring five in his last three starts, McTominay is on the crest of a light blue Neopolitan wave, drinking in the fans’ adoration with every strike.

A collective achievement would dial things up a notch. On Sunday, Napoli capitalized on title rival Inter Milan’s home defeat to Roma by beating Torino 2-0, sending the club three points clear at the league’s summit. In 2023, Napoli sprinted away with the Serie A trophy, its first in 33 years. Repeating the feat more dramatically would start another wild party, etching the 28-year-old’s name into the history books. Its closing four games are with opponents in the lower half of the table.

It’s perhaps been coming. McTominay, earning humorous labels such as “McTerminator” and “McFratm”—the second referencing the local variation of the word brother and the basis of a song—told the club’s YouTube channel upon joining, “When I found out that Napoli was interested, it lit the fire inside me right away to come here and push as much as I can.”

Does Manchester United Hold Back Talents?

True, United—losing money as a business and looking to get back on its feet with British billionaire Sir Jim Radcliffe and his company Ineos becoming part of the ownership—is right to forecast some financial gain in offloading players. Except, considering the big money spent on transfers, plus the value homegrown player McTominay brought to the side’s heart, he was not the one to sell.

Indeed, it was a short-term move that could do more damage in the long term. Although not absent from blame at times, McTominay often shone in a squad that has performed below par in recent years. The number eight may have aided this campaign’s quest to qualify for Europe—and the financial rewards that come with it—via the Premier League, where United has been miles off the pace.

Mind you, United is hardly the place to kick on right now—lacking a winning culture and needing to restructure. As players step away, they find a fresh lease of life: Antony at Real Betis, Marcus Rashford at Aston Villa, Anthony Elanga representing Nottingham Forest, and so on. The Red Devils have lost out on his departure, felt most keenly over the past few days.