Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay will travel to Italy on Tuesday in order to complete his proposed €30m (£25.4m) transfer to Napoli.
McTominay has continued to be a rotation player at United so far this season, rather than the regular starter he hopes to be at this stage of his career.
The Athletic writes that the 27-year-old is now due to be in Italy as the move edges closer. United accepted in recent days an offer that will make him one of the most expensive outgoing transfers in the club’s history behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku and Angel Di Maria, and on a similar level to that of Daniel James, Mason Greenwood and David Beckham.
Napoli are also said to be “advancing” when it comes to personal terms with McTominay.
McTominay scored ten goals across all competitions for United last season – only Rasmus Hojlund and Bruno Fernandes (both 16) got more – but he started just 18 times in the Premier League.
The Scotland international did play every minute of crucial FA Cup wins over Liverpool and Manchester City, yet United could not guarantee the playing time he understandably craves.
The Athletic adds that there is “reluctance” to lose McTominay, who has undeniably been a dependable servant, although the upside of selling is that, as a home-grown player from the academy, it is considered ‘pure profit’ with regard to Premier League and UEFA financial regulations.
Manuel Ugarte is set to arrive at Old Trafford from Paris Saint-Germain in the coming days.
Fulham interest earlier in the summer failed to yield an agreement over price, while West Ham United had been on McTominay’s tail last year but fell short with a £30m offer.
As a British player, McTominay wouldn’t be alone in leaving the Premier League for Italy in recent times. Fikayo Tomori and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have made AC Milan home, Tammy Abraham is into his fourth year at Roma, while Ademola Lookman, a Nigeria international but London-born and raised, has thrived with Atalanta since 2022 after a stop-start career in England and Germany.
McTominay’s Scotland teammate Lewis Ferguson won Serie A’s Best Midfielder award last season for his displays with Bologna, while Napoli are also looking into the signing of Brighton & Hove Albion’s Billy Gilmour.
More specifically regarding Napoli, one-cap England international Nathanial Chalobah spent an unsuccessful season there on loan from Chelsea in 2015/16.
Axel Tuanzebe was also briefly with the club on loan from United in the first half of 2022. No Scottish player has ever played for Napoli.
What we know
- Scott McTominay on course to leave Man Utd in €30m deal
- Midfielder set to join Napoli in search of regular starts
- Manuel Ugarte will soon arrive at Old Trafford from PSG