I was ready to be Man Utd’s next Bryan Robson but they didn't want me – now I’m a top 20 Ballon d’Or star

Much has been made of Manchester United’s recruitment this summer with Ruben Amorim still missing more than a few pieces of the jigsaw needed to help make his team capable of competing at the top end of the Premier League.

Things had been heading in the right direction before a 3-0 derby defeat at the hands of Man City, however, there is still a lot to be encouraged about after the win over Chelsea and given that they are just three points behind second place in the table with the statistics pointing to a significant improvement in terms of chance creation and attacking output. All they need to do now is start taking them.

Scott McTominay earns top 20 Ballon d’Or success

One area of the park that still has a few questions needing to be answered though is in the middle of the park where Amorim continues to squeeze the square peg of Bruno Fernandes into the round hole that is a deeper box-to-box role.

The United skipper continues to do his best work in the final third with another example of where the club went wrong in the summer of 2024 being presented at the Ballon d’Or awards.

With 13 goals and six assists for Napoli last season, Scott McTominay was a key figure in their Serie A title success earning the league’s player of the season in the process. The Scotland international’s 10 goals for United the year before had already highlighted his ability to cause problems at set-pieces and when making late runs into the box. At 6ft 4inch tall and the perfect athletic specimen, the versatile 28-year old is a manager’s dream.

In a similar vein, so too was Bryan Robson. The former United skipper would put his body on the line for his club and his teammates, and would drag others around him up to his level. Technically, Robson was a better player than McTominay, however, there are obvious similarities in terms of how they go about their business in terms of attitude, work rate, aggression and desire.

Robson was every bit as versatile as McTominay too in that he played everywhere in midfield for United and England as a player who often gets left out when the greats are being discussed. In the modern game, such players are becoming a rarity which makes them worth their weight in gold for managers who truly appreciate them like Antonio Conte.

Were United right to sell McTominay?

Despite the recognition and the accolades, Ally McCoist, speaking on TNT Sport, still thinks that McTominay was right to leave Old Trafford and that United weren’t in the wrong by letting the academy graduate leave.

"I’m chuffed to bits for him. I’m just so thrilled that it’s worked out for Scott and Billy [Gilmour] after going out there and becoming Serie A champions in their first season," McCoist told TNT Sports.

"Just look at the way that they’ve adapted to the football and the importance of Scott’s goals. I think he’s well deserving of his nomination. For a Scotsman to get in there and be nominated after the season he’s had, it's thoroughly deserved. When I’m looking at Manchester United, I would have thought there would have been a good few [players] to go before him, because there's a lot of the squad that haven’t performed at the level that they would have wanted to and expected from them.

"He wasn’t in that department, I always thought he was a big plus for Man United. Having said all that, I still think he had to leave to achieve what he’s achieving, and I just love the way that he’s grasped the opportunity.

A lot of people could have left Man United and think it's a slippery slope. He has proved that it can be the complete opposite. He’s a good player, but him staying at Manchester United wouldn’t have transformed them into a cup-winning team or lifting the league title, I don’t think. He had to leave United to achieve what he has done."

At Napoli, McTominay has become the main man, an idol, an opportunity that would simply never be presented amid the trials and tribulations of the soap opera that is Manchester United.