Scott McTominay draws Maradona comparison as Italy lauds Scottish superstar

Scotland manager Steve Clarke may struggle to control that occasional twinkle in his eye as Scott McTominay reaches new heights playing for Napoli in Italy

If a word association game began with ‘Scottish’, it might take a while before ‘football’ and ‘star’ came up. However, if the word was ‘Scozzese’, then ‘calcio’ and ‘stella’ would not be far behind, thanks to the extraordinary exploits of Scott McTominay for table-topping Napoli.

McTominay, who scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Torino on Sunday, has now broken Denis Law’s record for the most goals scored by a Scot in a single Serie A season and Napoli have a real chance of winning the title. In contrast, Manchester United, who sold him for the bargain price of £25 million last summer, currently sit 14th in the English Premier League.

Scott McTominay, centre, celebrates with Napoli teammates after scoring against Torino on Sunday (Picture: Francesco Pecoraro) | Getty Images

The Italian press have been lavishing praise on McTominay, saying he is not just a midfielder but “a top-class striker”. Corriere Dello Sport even wondered “what planet did he come from?”, deliberately referencing a question famously asked about Diego Maradona after his ‘goal of the century’ at the 1986 World Cup.

Success breeds success, and that occasional twinkle in Scotland manager Steve Clarke’s eye will be getting brighter with every game.