SCOTT McTOMINAY - FUTURE CAPTAIN IN THE MAKING

Scott McTominay

Future Captain in the Making

by Alan Abela‑Wadge

There’s no denying that if there’s one name that the Manchester United fans love to see on the team sheet, it’s their new homegrown hero Scott McTominay. Born in Lancaster, England but to a Scottish father, Scotty could have represented either England or Scotland but deep in his heart, he was always set on representing Scotland. Having Sir Alex Ferguson adding to the controversy and affirming that he would love to see McTominay for Scotland surely added to his conviction.

Lately the Scotland international has grown into a true leader at Old Trafford and is a key component of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team. When Manchester United fans first set their eyes on Scott McTominay, the word “monster” was probably not what came to mind.

Yet, just over three-and-a-half years on, there was barely a raised eyebrow when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer used to describe a player who has

He has become a trusted member of Solskjaer’s best team, having played a key role in our revival in the past year. Driven on by a love for the club that was perfectly illustrated by the picture he shared of himself as teenage alongside Sir Alex Ferguson in the hours after leading his boyhood club out at the Theatre of Dreams, Scott McTominay has now established himself as one of Solskjaer’s trusted enforcers.

Yet the future wasn’t always set in stone for Scotty. Back when he was 15 years old, McTominay was far from the “monster” that United coaches and fans have come to love. He had a slight frame and stood at around 5’7” for much of his teens before he grew eight inches over the course of the 2016-17 campaign. Rarely singled out as a future star, it needed the support of academy staff such as Brian McClair and Paul McGuinness to ensure that McTominay was even kept within the club’s youth ranks. During his final two seasons in the Under-18s, he played just under two hours of competitive football, while during his first year with the U21s, he made just two starts as he largely had to make do with a role coming off the bench.

As such, it was only after his growth spurt that he began to start regularly, and having caught the eye of first‑team manager Jose Mourinho, he made his senior debut in the closing weeks of the 2016-17 season. McTominay’s work rate, willingness to follow instructions and overall character endeared him to Mourinho, and over the course of the 2017-18 campaign, he began to earn more and more opportunities within the first‑team. His inclusion was met with some derision, though, as fans and pundits alike questioned whether this admittedly limited youngster was really the answer to United’s midfield problems, when at the same time, Paul Pogba was being left on the bench.

McTominay was labelled something of a ‘teacher’s pet’ under Mourinho, and that was only exacerbated after the Portuguese’s lastminute decision to reward his young charge Much to the surprise of everyone in the room, Mourinho awarded McTominay with his own ‘Manager’s Player of the Year’ prize, though the trophy the Lancaster-born starlet received was actually one of the table decorations from the black-tie dinner, rather than anything nice and shiny! But hey, that’s Mourinho for you.

Fast forward a few years and here we are talking about Scott McTominay and his potential to be a future Manchester United captain. In fact it’s not just journalists and us fans that believe this, even Manchester United former #9 and much loved Dimitar Berbatov shares the same view. When Scott McTominay was awarded with a new contract in 2020 the Bulgarian said:

“I think it is a perfect time to extend Scott McTominay’s contract. I think he is developing in the right way, playing regularly and I hope they give him more time. It certainly shows that United have faith in him as a player and the club are making a statement that they are going to depend on him in the future. He’s still young and in his early 20s, so for him to see that the club are trusting him and rewarding him with a contract extension is a great day for him to celebrate.”

“He now needs to put t h o s e celebrations aside and prove why the club have given him an extension, he needs to be even better than before, and “He definitely deserves a new contract, he has great confidence in the way he moves around the pitch and the way he looks for the ball.”

Definitely a strong statement by an ex‑United alumnus and someone who knows what it means to be a United legend.

There’s no doubt that if Scott McTominay keeps up this style of football, keeps up the hunger and shows this energy, one day he might be considered as our next new captain. The fans love nothing better than a homegrown player blossoming into a superstar and if McTominay evolves into the player we all know he can be and actually becomes our captain, the fans will surely be pleased with the choice.

The run-in to this season should be an important one for Scotty. With Pogba injured for a few weeks with a strained thigh, Scotty will be seeing more games for sure and it means that Solskjaer will depend more on Scott McTominay’s hunger in the middle of the ground. Together with Fred and with the Portuguese Magnifico Bruno Fernandes slightly above them, the three players will surely lead the surge for United’s goals; finishing as high as possible in the Premier League table and challenging for the two remaining trophies: the FA Cup and the Europa League. One can’t forget Matic as well, but the way the gaffer has been playing lately it seems that Matic will be playing in key games where we need his footballing brain more than we need McTominay or Fred’s hunger.

I’m certainly one of many who will be surely be looking forward to see

McTominay’s development over the next few years and will gladly chant his name as our captain should that come to pass!