'The biggest compliment' - Scott McTominay hailed by ex-Scotland hero after what Napoli boss Antonio Conte did

Scott McTominay’s outstanding debut season for Napoli in the Serie A has been so impressive it has resulted in ‘rigid’ Antonio Conte changing system in order to build the side around him, according to an ex-Scotland goalscoring hero.

The 28-year-old midfielder moved to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in the summer for a reported fee of £32million, alongside international teammate Billy Gilmour, and has proven crucial to Napoli’s title charge as the Gli Azzurri edge closer to a first Scudetto title since 2022.

His brace in the 2-0 weekend win over Torino took him to 11 league goals for the season, and helped Napoli go three points clear of Inter Milan at the top of the table with just four games remaining. It also saw McTominay smash a 63-year record held by Scottish icon Denis Law for most goals scored by a Scotsman in a single Serie A season, as his remarkable campaign continued at rocket speed.

Following his exceptional form in Italy’s top flight, former Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison believes the ex-Manchester United man has long been underrated, with McTominay vitally important at both club and international level.

“He scored more Serie A goals than Dennis Law now, breaking his record at the weekend,” said Hutchison. “He's playing in his best position. The biggest compliment is that his manager, especially someone like Antonio Conte, who's normally been quite rigid in his playing style, he's gone from a back three to a back four to accommodate McTominay. I mean, that's a massive compliment when a manager changes your complete style and philosophy for one player. He’s massively underrated.

Scott McTominay heads home the winner for Napoli against Monza. | AFP via Getty Images

“Steve Clarke puts him in his best position for Scotland. That's why he scores goals when he's playing for the national side. Conte's doing the same thing and now what you've got is you've got a number eight/number 10 that's got freedom to get in the box and score goals. That's what he's good at.

“He's not a number six. He's not a deep-lying midfield player. He can play at eight, of course, he can do it, but he needs the license to go forward. He's one of those sorts of players where you build a side around him because he will get and he should be getting double figures every season.”

Hutchison, who was capped a total of 26 times by Scotland and famously scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over England at Wembley in 1999, also addressed the future of Tartan Army captain Andy Robertson following rumours that Liverpool were looking to make a summer move for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez.

Andy Robertson celebrates Liverpool’s title win on Sunday,

The 30-year-old become only the third Scot to win the English Premier League title twice at the weekend, as Liverpool thrashed Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 at Anfield to confirm their status as the 24/25 champions. However, Robertson’s form has come into question throughout the campaign, with some onlookers pondering if head coach Arne Slot may be considering a summer bid for Kerkez.

“It might not be a replacement for Andy Robertson,” Hutchison told GoldenPanda. “It might be the case of Kostas Tsimikas moving on. And then if they do sign Kerkez, then you've got two really good left backs. Then you can say that Andy Robertson and Milos Kerkez, right, you two are fighting it out for the left-back position. There's obviously going to be rotation as well, because of the amount of games they will play.

“For Arne Slot's second season, I think he'll rotate a lot more. I think Salah might not play every single game. Same with Van Dijk, it depends obviously on the games that they play. So I think Kerkez would be a brilliant signing for Liverpool.”