Scott McTominay was thrown away by Manchester United but stolen the heart of Naples.
The Serie A player of the year, the Scot, shot the men of Antonio Conte on the Scudetto and earned a place in the Napolitan folklore next to the great Diego Maradona.
And the midfielder celebrated a serious fashion – smoking, dancing and Scotch knocking directly from the bottle during the Napoli trophy parade.
He even got an audience with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican and his newly found celebrities status is also richly earned.
McTominay, signed for £ 25 million from Old Trafford on Deadline Day last summer, took 12 goals and the Serie A Most Valuable Player Gong in a fantastic season.
The 28-year-old received the title party on their last day of the season with a stunning scissors-kick finish against Cagliari.
While United had to circumvent the academy product for financial reasons, Mctominay was also ready for a new challenge.
In Napoli he found a boss in Conte who sees him as the heart of one side, instead of someone who can fill holes here and there.
The trust of Conte has put the best out of the shot – which next week has a national team obligation for friendly competitions with Iceland and Liechtenstein – and his exploits in Italy have surprised many at home.
Although those who worked with him early were so certain that he would hit these heights, they kept Dendens from the first day.
Charlie Jackson, founder of Matrix Soccer Academy, was the first coach of Mctominay at United when he became a member of a five -year -old.
He said to Sunsport: “There were no video telephones in those days, but I wish we could have filmed him as you had seen a special player.
“I have his first shirt, his first training shirt and his first football – that we had in a glass cupboard – because you knew it. You just knew it.”
Jackson, who also helped the development of Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton and Fulham left back Antonee Robinson, added: “He was persistent, he wanted to learn.
“We would perhaps spend 1½ hours on a session and he would spend 20 minutes later, want to control what he had just done.
“I should have a few children to do an exercise and do the same with him again because he just wanted to get it.
“It is rare that you see that in a child of that age.”
Mctominay was never fully used by successive United managers after he had been handed his Red Devils debut by Jose Mourinho in 2017.
Jackson explained: “Jose was just fantastic for him. Gave him his debut, took care of him.
“Scott always works on trust and a pat on the back. If you believe in him, he will run coal for you. Conte has done that. Mourinho did that too.”
McTominay hardly signed for Napoli, who was very close to the landing of Marco Brescianini to a late change.
How glad they have to be MCTominay was their choice.
Fans have attracted kilts in honor of him and a mural in Maradona style appeared in the streets of Naples.
Everyone has been won, with the Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport who abandons him as “the Highlander who came from Manchester to tear our championship apart” and “the symbol of the Scudetto”.
There will certainly be some red faces in Manchester, who see one of their own success go to this success.
After a season of watching players without character and fighting, and finishing a gloomy 15th in the Prem, MCTominay is exactly the kind of player they need.
Earlier this season, former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer shared his surprise by saying: “How you can sell Scott is over.”
The biggest fear in Manchester is that this might just be the beginning.
Jackson, who keeps in touch with Mctominay, added: “The best yet to come for him. I don't think you've seen anything else.
“I used to say to his father Frank:” He will never be considered a world class and it is a shame, but he should be because he is. “
“He was successful with Man United, but to do what he has done now … and there is much, much more.
“That is the biggest thing I can say about him – it's just the tip of the iceberg, to be honest.”
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