JAKARTA - Midfielder Scott McTominay is likely to leave Napoli and return to the English Premier League. Poor financial conditions make it difficult for the club to retain McTominay.
McTominay is a player from Great Britain who has achieved great success in the Italian League. Drowning in Manchester United because his performance is considered less consistent, McTominay was then loaned to Napoli in 2024.
The Italian Serie A club seems to have hit the jackpot. McTominay is quick to adapt to Italian football and has risen to become one of the top midfielders in the league.
Not only that, he immediately led Napoli, which was managed by Antonio Conte, to the Scudetto. The captain of the Scottish national team was also chosen as the Player of the Season in Serie A after scoring 13 goals in various competitions and making 19 assists.
According to BBC Sports, McTominay successfully won the hearts of Napoli fans. The charming performance and contribution of the 29-year-old defensive midfielder made him not need long to become an icon of the club and fans. Posters and murals of him are scattered in every corner of Naples City. Fans also call him 'McFratm' from the word 'McBrother'.
It's just that Napoli realizes that sooner or later they will lose McTominay. His consistent performance in the league, even though Napoli is threatened with failing to defend the league title because he has been abandoned by Inter Milan, makes McTominay the target of English Premier League clubs.
He will not return to Man Utd who have thrown him away. However, other clubs have shown interest in bringing back the player who won the FA Cup and the English League Cup with the Red Devils.
According to one of the club's top officials, Leonardo Giammarioli who handles global business development, Napoli will have difficulty retaining McTominay for a long time. Although he does not want to lose a valuable asset, he considers the player will grow more.
"Of course, we are worried [about losing McTominay]. But Scott deserves to continue to develop. It's not for now but maybe next season. If there is a very good opportunity, he deserves it," Giammorioli said as quoted by The Sun.
Giammarioli admitted that by looking at the financial strength of the club, Napoli was clearly losing out in European competitions. The failure of the Partenopei to survive in the Champions League shows that they and other Italian clubs still find it difficult to face the competition.
No Serie A team has qualified automatically for the last 16. Only Inter and Atalanta have to play a playoff to get a ticket to the knockout round.
"Currently, it is difficult for Italian teams to compete. The league is still losing. We are trying to continue to grow and try to compete, but keeping top players is obviously not easy," said Giammarioli.
"It's clear that it's not easy to bring in a player like McTominay. But keeping him is definitely more difficult. So we have to be really smart when making decisions in the transfer market," he said.
Napoli itself has been eliminated in the Champions League. Meanwhile, in the domestic competition, Napoli who is ranked third is nine points behind Inter. Napoli is also still in the Coppa Italia. They will face Como 1907 in the quarter-finals.
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