Scott McTominay caught attention with an amazing transfer rumor while playing for Scotland at the World Cup.
Scott McTominay’s World Cup with Scotland is almost over — but an exciting transfer rumor has popped up while he’s still in the U.S.
Scotland’s dream of making it to the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time is hanging by a thread.
Steve Clarke’s team finished third in Group C with just three points. They won 1-0 against Haiti, lost 1-0 to Morocco, and then lost 3-0 to Brazil. With the new 48-team format, the best eight third-place teams move on, but Scotland is 10th out of 12 in that group.
Opta gives them only a 0.07% chance to advance. They’ll need some lucky results in Saturday’s final matches to have any shot at qualifying.
McTominay hasn’t scored in the tournament, but he’s been shining at Napoli in Serie A after moving from Manchester United for £25.7m in 2024.
The 29-year-old was Serie A’s MVP in his first season, helping Napoli win the title and earning a spot in the Team of the Season. He kept up great form this season too, with 10 goals and 3 assists, even though Napoli didn’t do as well as Inter Milan.
His strong performances haven’t gone unnoticed. According to Tuttomercatoweb, Real Madrid is interested in McTominay, especially after José Mourinho became their new manager.
Mourinho gave McTominay his debut at Manchester United and quickly made him a key player. He even created a special manager’s player of the year award for him after only 13 starts!
Mourinho also encouraged McTominay to follow his heart and play for Scotland. In 2024, McTominay said he’s still in touch with Mourinho after the coach left United.
Napoli is in talks to keep their star player, but no deal has been made yet.
The reports say it would take at least €80m (about £68m) to sign McTominay away from Italy.
Former Scotland defender Charlie Mulgrew thinks McTominay could do really well at a top Spanish club.
“Right now, he’s doing great where he is, but there’s no reason he can’t move to Barcelona or Real Madrid,” Mulgrew told BOYLE Sports.
“If he keeps performing for Napoli and scoring important goals, moving to a big club in Spain would be a natural step.
“For me, Real Madrid feels like a better fit than Barcelona. He seems more like a Real Madrid type of player, but you never know in football. If he went there, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.”