Scott McTominay becomes first Scot to claim Serie A award as league chief calls him ‘devastating'
He was already enjoying the best goalscoring season of his career - now it's got even better
TOP SCOTT Scott McTominay becomes first Scot to claim Serie A award as league chief calls him 'devastating'
SCOTT MCTOMINAY's amazing year in Italy continues.
The former Manchester United midfielder joined Napoli for £25.5million last summer and just this week he has added another feather to his cap.
Advertisement
1
Scott McTominay has been in top form for Napoli of late
Credit: Reuters
McTominay was already enjoying the best goalscoring season of his career by the time he broke the 63-year-old record set by Denis Law for the number of goals by a Scot in a Serie A campaign.
On top of that he's had pizzas named after him, fans have gotten tattoos in his honour and there's even a shrine dedicated to him.
Last weekend he helped Napoli put one hand on the Scudetto with a solid display in a 1-0 win over Lecce, with Billy Gilmour coming on to play a cameo role.
That result means Antonio Conte's men went six points clear of Inter Milan (the gap has since reduced back to three).
Advertisement
McTominay's performances throughout April have led to him being named the league's player of the month.
He becomes the first Scot to win the award - despite the success of the likes of Law, Graeme Souness and Lewis Ferguson before him.
The 28-year-old bagged five goals across April and will pick up the fan-voted award this weekend when he takes to the pitch for his team's game against Genoa.
On the back of his displays, Serie A's chief executive described McTominay's impact on the Italian top flight as "devastating".
Advertisement
League CEO Luigi De Siervo said: "Scott McTominay's impact on the league has been 'devastating', proving to be an absolute top player, the ideal prototype of the 'box-to-box' midfielder, decisive in both phases of the game.
"The five goals he scored in April alone put Napoli back on top of the table and allowed the player to set his own personal record for goals in a season.
'How can you sell him?' Ole Gunnar Solskjaer blasts Man Utd for Scott McTominay's transfer to Napoli
"He is the first Scotsman to win the Serie A Player of the Month award, an award that has been won a total of 11 times, out of 53 editions, by a Napoli player, a club that holds the absolute record in this special classification."
A statement from the league read: "The EA SPORTS FC Player Of The Month award for April has been assigned to Napoli player Scott McTominay. The trophy will be presented during the pre-match of Napoli vs Genoa, scheduled for Sunday 11th May 2025 at 8.45pm at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in Naples.
Advertisement
"The fans' votes on http://serieapotm.easports.com/, combined with individual statistical data, determined Scott McTominay as the winner, beating champions like Diao (Como), Ndoye (Bologna), Ondrejka (Parma), Rovella (Lazio), Soulè (Roma).
"The six best players of the month have been selected taking into account the advanced analysis of Stats Perform, created from the tracking data recorded with the Hawk-Eye system.
"The rating system, patented in 2010 with K-Sport and scientifically validated, considers not only statistical data and technical events, but also positional data.
"This makes it possible to analyse crucial aspects such as movement without the ball and thus optimal movements, game choices, and the contribution to the technical and physical efficiency of the team, which allow for an objective and qualitative evaluation of the performance.
Advertisement
"For the final calculation matchdays 31 to 34 of Serie A 2024/2025 were considered."
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
25 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Max Johnston hopes club success by Scottish players can boost national team
The 21-year-old right-back was part of Sturm Graz's championship-winning side, while Napoli pair Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour, Liverpool's Andy Robertson and Celtic's Anthony Ralston have also met up with the national team for the friendlies against Iceland and Liechtenstein fresh from top-flight glory. In addition, Lewis Ferguson captained Bologna to their Coppa Italia triumph, Josh Doig helped Sassuolo to the Serie B title and Grant Hanley won League One with Birmingham. 🏴 𝑆𝑐𝑜𝑡𝑡 & 𝐵𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑦 💙 @sscnapoli @ScotlandNT — Lega Serie A (@SerieA) June 4, 2025 'It's amazing to see how many trophies in so many different countries that the boys have won,' said Johnston. 'It's amazing to see Scottish players doing so well abroad and it's really encouraging for us that players are starting to win titles now and win cups, so I think that's going to be huge for us. 'As a footballer you want to be a winner, so it's great to see. That'll definitely help us.' Johnston, who moved from Motherwell to Austria two years ago, also appeared in the Champions League as he made 30 appearances for Sturm Graz in the season just finished. The campaign before that, he played 27 times as his side won the league and cup double. Johnston is thrilled with the way his move from Motherwell to the Austrian Bundesliga two years ago has panned out so far. 'It was really enjoyable for me winning the league over in Austria, it was a good season,' he said. 'I feel like I've improved definitely by getting the amount of minutes that I've managed to get over the last year or so. 'As a footballer you need to play to continue to learn, so I feel as though I've been learning and improving every week. 'The Austrian league is a great league for young players. They really try and push the younger generation and give you an opportunity to play. I've really enjoyed the experience on and off the pitch.' Johnston's progress at club level was rewarded when he made his Scotland debut as a late substitute in the Nations League play-off win away to Greece in March, and he now intends to push for more regular involvement with the national team. 'I've got a small taste for it now and it's just made me hungry for more,' he said. 'I want to try and bring what I can to the squad. I like to get forward from my position and create attacking chances, so hopefully that's what I can do for the squad.' Johnston is inspired by his father Allan, a former Hearts, Sunderland, Rangers, Middlesbrough and Kilmarnock winger who won 18 Scotland caps between 1998 and 2002. 'I'm so lucky to have grown up with someone who was involved in the game and he's been a huge help to me, him and my mum as well,' said Johnston. 'Obviously, they've been coming over to Austria and helping me out over there as well, so I'm very lucky for that.'
Scottish Sun
32 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Rangers to confirm Russell Martin within 24 hours as he cuts short holiday to seal deal with contract length revealed
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) RUSSELL MARTIN has struck a deal to become new Rangers boss. SunSport can reveal the 39-year old has verbally agreed a three-year contract to take charge at Ibrox. Sign up for the Rangers newsletter Sign up 1 Russell Martin will be the next Rangers manager Credit: Getty Martin will now cut short a Spanish sunshine holiday to travel Glasgow to close the deal. Barring any eleventh hour hiccups he'll be paraded in the next 24 hours. We were first to break the news on February 23 that the ex-Southampton boss was in the frame to replace Philippe Clement. Now - after a series of talks with the club's new hierarchy - he's now been told the job is his. Italian coach Davide Ancelotti was interviewed along with a number of others including Steven Gerrard. But Martin has convinced new Gers chairman Andrew Cavenagh he's the man to lead the club's revival. Cavenagh became involved in the process after 49ers Enterprises advisor Gretar Steinsson and Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell did the initial groundwork. It became a battle between Martin and Ancelotti with many Gers supporters hoping the Italian would be named. But the bold decision has been made to give the former Scotland defender his next chance in management. Martin knows the club having had a short loan stint with Gers in 2018. Southampton manager bust up But it's his ambitious vision for the future and clear football philosophy that made him a candidate from the outset. The appointment is now expected to be confirmed before the weekend. Martin will be able to name his own backroom staff with longterm No1 Matty Gill set to join him. Ex-Ibrox defender Mo Ross could also be part of the new-look coaching team. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Times
32 minutes ago
- Times
Dave Brailsford steps back at Man United in Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos reshuffle
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is planning a major reshuffle that will lead to Sir Dave Brailsford reducing his commitment to Manchester United to return to his director of sport role for Ineos and Geraint Thomas taking a senior leadership position at the professional cycling team when he retires as a rider at the end of this season. Brailsford stood down as team principal of Ineos Grenadiers when Ratcliffe purchased his minority stake in Manchester United and took charge of football operations, and has dedicated more than a year to implementing change at the Premier League club. The season has ended in frustration and disappointment, with United finishing the campaign under Ruben Amorim in 15th, their worst Premier League finish, and failing to secure a back-door route into the Champions League after losing the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur last month. Even so, 61-year-old Brailsford is credited by the British billionaire with overhauling the performance set-up at United, the £50million redevelopment of the club's Carrington training ground and drawing up his Mission 21 plan for a 21st league title and a first championship for the women's team. While Ratcliffe has reduced his overall investment in sport over the past few months, terminating his sponsorship of the All Blacks and an advertising deal with Tottenham while also ending his pursuit of the America's Cup, he remains committed to his cycling team, even if they too hope to secure a new joint-sponsor in another petrochemicals firm, TotalEnergies. The failure of United to secure European football next season also means the French club comes out of trust — originally placed there to comply with Uefa ownership rules — and returns to being the responsibility of the Ineos Sport's team. Brailsford leads that unit and Ratcliffe wants him to return to his former role so that he can oversee that transition as well as revive some of his focus on cycling by supporting the Ineos Grenadiers management team of John Allert, the chief executive, and performance director Scott Drawer. The former British Cycling boss will play a role in helping Thomas make the transition from athlete to team management. Ratcliffe is known to be an admirer of the 39-year-old, having got to know him well as fellow residents in Monaco. He sees the 2018 Tour de France winner and double Olympic champion, who has announced he will retire after the Tour of Britain in September, as leadership material and wants Brailsford to help groom him for such a role. In an interview with Cycling News during the recent Giro d'Italia, Drawer said: 'We'd be crazy not to think about Geraint being part of the team in the future. Geraint's got unique skills that we don't have. We'd like to tap into what Geraint knows. He's got huge respect and credibility in the sport. He's the current team captain and plays a big role in that.'
