Scott McTominay immortalised in Italy as Napoli fans dedicate shrine to Scotland star with new nickname

Scott McTominay’s reputation continues to soar in Italy after his outstanding debut season in Serie A saw him immortalised by Napoli fans at the site of a former religious site in the historic Quartiere San Lorenzo area of the city.

The 28-year-old has enjoyed a memorable first season in the south of Italy, and is now on the cusp of winning the first league title of his career after going three points clear of Inter Milan following his side’s 1-0 away win at Leece on Saturday. The Scudetto is so close, McTominay can almost smell it.

Joining the club for a reported fee of £27.5million from Manchester United last September, McTominay has been a revelation for the southern Italian outfit this season, linking up with international teammate Billy Gilmour in making a megabucks switch to the Italian giants on deadline day, after the duo had been targeted by head coach Antonio Conte throughout the summer.

Already on 11 league goals for the season following his double strike against Torino a fortnight ago, the popular midfielder has already surpassed the record held by the iconic Denis Law for the most goals scored by a Scotsman in a single Serie A season, with his record of ten for Torino in Serie A standing for 63-years until McTominay arrived. Some Napoli fans have even equated his impact at the club with that of Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona.

He and teammate Gilmour have even had pizzas named in their honour since the move to Serie A, with huge Napoli fan Mimmo Rossi, owner of Bella Vita in Glasgow, inspired to create a new dish named the GilMcTominay, while the sight of kilts being worn by Napoli ultras has become the norm as opposed to the exception in the Curva A section of the team’s home stadium.

Affectionately known as ‘McSauce’ by Tartan Army supporters, he’s even picked up a fancy new nickname in Italy that combines his Scottish surname with some fancy Neapolitan lingo. Following a recent post-match interview with DAZN, he was coined ‘McFratm’ - which loosely translates as ‘McBro’ - fusing together his name and the Neapolitan slang "fratm," meaning brother or friend. There’s other Italian nicknames available too, with MacGyver, McTerminator, , or "apribottiglie"—the latter meaning bottle opener, a nod to his habit of breaking the deadlock for Napoli - also on offer.

Scott McTominay (R) fights for the ball with Lecce's Danilo Veiga during Saturday's Serie A match . (Photo by CARLO HERMANN/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images

Quite simply, McTominay-mania has exploded like a volcano in the Italian south, but it is showing no signs of cooling down after Gli Azzurri fans opted to honour his eye-popping maiden campaign at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium by immortalising him with a shrine in Naples city centre. Located at Vico San Nicola al Nilo, artwork depicting the Scotland international now adorns the walls of the famous street, with the design also featuring a reference to his now famous nickname.

Situated around a two minute walk from the Duomo metro station, the McTominay artwork can now be viewed in the street, near where the Baroque-style church of San Nicola a Nilo is situated, if you’re planning on visiting any time soon.