According to reports, Scott Francis McTominay, the Scottish midfielder born on December 8, 1996, in Lancaster, joined Napoli unexpectedly. Giovanni Manna, Italy’s top sporting director in 2024, initially intended to sign Marco Verratti, but his move to Atalanta opened the door for McTominay.

Purchased from Manchester United for €30 million, McTominay, now nicknamed “MacGyver” after the fictional problem-solving character, has become Napoli’s pillar in their quest for a fourth Serie A title. His brace in the 2-0 win over Torino kept Napoli at the top of the table, with Antonio Conte’s squad now leading by three points after Inter’s consecutive defeats.

McTominay has scored 12 goals this season (11 in Serie A), netting five of Napoli’s last six goals, surpassing Denis Law, Torino’s legend, to become the highest-scoring Scottish player in a single Serie A season. He is also the first Scot since Charlie Adam (2010-11) to score over 10 goals in one of Europe’s top five leagues.

McTominay’s role goes beyond scoring. He is not just a midfielder but a versatile player; sometimes acting as a second striker or false winger, with 29 shots on target, making him the seventh-best in Serie A in this regard. Stanislav Lobotka told Radio CRC: “McTominay has great quality; he’s good with the ball, runs a lot for the team, and scores many goals. Playing alongside him and Anguissa is easy because they’re really good.” Journalist Umberto Chiarlo told Channel 21: “McTominay does everything: helps in defense, takes corners, moves across zones, and brings immense energy to the team.”

Italian media, particularly Corriere dello Sport, have hailed McTominay as a “genius” and “hero of the Maradona Stadium,” comparing him to Diego Maradona: “The man who decides the fate of the championship, as if he came from Mars. His impact in Serie A is devastating, and he might be the best player in the tournament.” Napoli fans call him “McTominaldo,” “McTerminator,” or “McFratm” (meaning brother in Neapolitan dialect), though he prefers the latter. McTominay calmly stated: “The title means a lot; the team did it two years ago. We shouldn’t get too excited; we must stay calm and take it game by game.”

Napoli, with 10 points from a possible 12, can clinch the title, and McTominay, now replacing “Matarile” (the fans’ old nickname for key players), is the key to this success. Chiarlo mocked some experts’ wrong predictions, like Ezioulino Capuano’s about Mertens: “An Inter-supporting journalist questioned the €30 million for McTominay, but now I think he’s competing for the worst football prediction in history.” McTominay, with his relentless brilliance, is not only leading Napoli to the Scudetto but has also proven worth every euro of his transfer fee.