Scott McTominay Responds to Man Utd Transfer Links With Clear Idea for His Future

Napoli, Italy — Scott McTominay has ended weeks of speculation by declaring that his future lies in Naples, not Manchester, telling Corriere dello Sport he “could see myself at Napoli for a long time” and insisting his representatives have held no talks with outside clubs.

The 29-year-old’s rebuttal arrives amid mounting chatter that Manchester United, mired in midfield inconsistency, might attempt to re-sign the academy graduate they sold in 2024. McTominay’s transformation under Antonio Conte—culminating in last season’s Scudetto and a Serie A Player of the Year award—has made him one of Europe’s most complete central midfielders, a development United have watched from afar with growing interest.

“I am extremely happy here,” McTominay said. “As far as I’m concerned, I am a Napoli player; it is all I think about.” Those words echo an Italian proverb Conte’s staff have repeated inside the dressing room: La minestra riscaldata non è mai buona—reheated soup is never good. The message is blunt: returning to an old club rarely tastes the same.

United’s need for midfield reinforcements is genuine. With Casemiro’s departure expected, Erik ten Hag’s side are prepared to spend heavily, yet sources indicate the club’s recruitment cell views McTominay as ill-suited to the holding role they must fill. Alternatives including Elliot Anderson, Carlos Baleba, Adam Wharton and Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali have taken priority on a younger, more defensively oriented shortlist.

McTominay’s statistical profile underlines why. Despite a persistent knock that has required pain-killing injections for much of the campaign, he has again reached double-digit goals, frequently arriving late to break defensive lines. Conte, however, has been most effusive about the unseen work: positioning in build-up, tempo-setting alongside Stanislav Lobotka, and tactical discipline that has allowed Napoli to weather an injury crisis and remain in the title race.

“In this year and a half he became a complete player,” Conte said earlier this season. “He now plays with Lobotka as two midfielders… At the same time he has never lost the possibility to attack… Now he is, in my opinion, a really, really top player for an important club.”

That importance is reflected in McTominay’s contract, which runs until June 2028, and in Napoli’s hard-line stance toward Premier League suitors. The Partenopei have repeatedly rejected British advances for their core talents, and any bid for their Scottish engine would need to shatter the club’s transfer record to gain traction.

For McTominay, the calculus is simpler. At 29, he has found a league that values tactical growth, a coach who has expanded his repertoire, and a fan base that has adopted the former United trainee as a symbol of the club’s resurgence. The lure of a Manchester homecoming, however sentimental, appears to have been consigned to the past.

“My agent has not communicated with anyone regarding my future,” McTominay reiterated. “He only speaks with me and with the club… The future is very important, and I could see myself in Napoli for a long time.”

With those words, Manchester United’s brief flirtation with reuniting with their former No. 39 appears closed, leaving Napoli free to plan around a midfielder who has swapped the label of utility player for that of genuine superstar.