The decision to allow Scott McTominay to leave Manchester United last summer for a measly £25m may not have provoked a huge outcry among the club’s fanbase (though there were definitely dissenting voices) but the call looked more and more ridiculous with every goal the midfielder banged in as he led Napoli to the Serie A title.
His stunning success in Italy alongside Scotland teammate Billy Gilmour has been quite the rejoinder to his doubters, with fans of the Red Devils now in almost total consensus that their club made a huge error in allowing their academy product to slip from their grasp.
For his captain at international level, though, Scotland skipper Andy Robertson, it has been hugely satisfying to watch. McTominay, in his book, simply didn’t get the respect that he deserved while he was at Old Trafford, and now he has proved it beyond all doubt.
“I think he went over there with a point to prove,” Robertson said.
“I think he wanted to prove Man Utd wrong and prove people in the Premier League wrong. And he’s went over there and done that pretty successfully.
“At Man Utd he probably lacked getting that run of games consistently, he was in and out and things like that. He probably didn’t get the respect he deserves.
“Then he goes over there, puts in a magnificent season and fair play to him, to end it with the league title.
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“Scott is a winner, we see that every day in training because he sets standards, looks after himself. He talks to the young lads and tries to give off his experience.” Robertson has been delighted to see the way that McTominay and Gilmour have been embraced by their now adoring public in Naples, and thinks the experiences they have picked up in Italian football can only be a benefit to Scotland too.
Though, there is one adornment to McTominay’s personality from his time in Italy that he could live without.
“He’s started speaking to us in Italian on the pitch!” he said.
“I watched the [final] game, saw his goal and reaction was special.
“It’s impossible to overlook Billy because he’s been excellent since we went over there as well. But McTominay has taken it to a whole new level, he was voted the best player in the league.
“It was special for the both of them. Billy was talking about how if he goes out in Naples he can walk about a bit more freely, while Scotty is surrounded.
“It’s a massive club, a big fanbase. We played them a couple of times in the Champions League and it’s not an easy place to go.
“Everyone knows how passionate their fans are so for them to love one of ours, it’s pretty special for Scotland too. “They love Billy too so credit to the both of them for going over there, being successful and winning the trophy.
“Even before he was at Napoli, his standard for Scotland was unbelievable. He’s getting better and better as well - he’s taken it to a whole new level.
“Scotty now knows a different way of playing in Italian football and that can only help us.”
That goes too for the rest of the players involved in a mini-Scottish invasion of the continent, with Robertson in no doubt that their skillsets in both a technical and mental sense will have benefitted from the exposure to varying styles of football and different ways of life.
“We have seen Scott and Billy go [to Italy], we’ve seen Lewis Ferguson go there, Aaron Hickey, Che Adams,” he said.
“That can only help the young lads coming through and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re thinking they want to go and try it.
“That’s credit to lads for stepping out of their comfort zone.”
As well as McTominay and Gilmour winning the Scudetto this season, Ferguson captained Bologna to the Coppa Italia, Johnston won the Austrian Bundesliga with Sturm Graz, while Robertson himself tucked another English Premier League winners’ medal into his collection.
That success too will, Robertson reckons, help instil a winning mentality into the Scotland side, and help in moments where the stakes are high.
“I said two or three years ago, when lads were qualifying for Champions League and winning leagues up here,” he said.
“Quite a few of the lads were doing well in the Championship, so I felt it was good for us because it can only help if people are used to lifting trophies.
“When you have that feeling of celebrating it can only help because it grows and grows the more you do it. “I feel the more people we have with that winning mentality, playing in finals and playing in the final match of the season when you have to win, then it can only help us when things get high pressure for Scotland.
“This season has been a pretty good one on that front, lads have played in high-pressure games, won titles and won trophies.
“That can only help us going forward, and more people will come up as well. The more who are playing in big games, when it comes to us needing to win a big game for Scotland in a qualifier, a play-off game or whatever, then we’re a bit calmer because we have that experience.
“That’s crucial for us going forward.”
