Ole Gunnar Solskjaer never admitted as much publicly but one of the factors behind Scott McTominay never getting a sustained opportunity as a No 8-style midfielder in his Manchester United side centred around the concerns in central defence.
In the main, Solskjaer and his coaches felt United’s centre-half pairing of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof needed a double screen in front of them.
The absence of a recognised world-class holding midfielder also doubtless played a part in that thinking, too, and so McTominay was often asked to sit uncomplainingly alongside Fred, another midfielder who was more comfortable in a more advanced role.
It meant United were effectively operating with two No 6s who were not No 6s and, as time went on, “McFred” – as that midfield combination was disparagingly dubbed – became something of a symbol of the side’s limitations, even if it said as much about the club’s enduring recruitment issues as anything else.
Even before Erik ten Hag had officially started work as United manager, the Dutchman had made it clear to the club that area of the pitch was the one requiring the most immediate surgery, and quickly set about ripping up “McFred”.
Christian Eriksen arrived and, after a long, torturous pursuit of Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong eventually ended in entirely predictable defeat, so too did Casemiro. This summer, Mason Mount and deadline-day signing Sofyan Amrabat were added into the mix.
Fred was shipped off to Galatasaray and, had things worked out differently, McTominay might easily have left as well after a summer in which United were prepared to accept offers of £40 million to £45 million for a player who attracted interest from West Ham, Newcastle, Fulham and Inter Milan and, intriguingly, Bayern Munich.
What is remarkable about it is United could have been kissing goodbye to a player who has made more than 200 appearances for the club and yet barely ever been used in his best position, and certainly not within a cohesive framework.
Only for Scotland have we been given a more concerted look at what McTominay is capable of when deployed as a box-to-box midfielder with licence to attack and score goals and, when Gareth Southgate assesses how best to stymie Steve Clarke’s high-flying side, muzzling United’s unfashionable midfielder is likely to be prominent among the England manager’s thoughts.
England will be up against a Scotland side in Tuesday’s friendly at Hampden Park who are firmly on course for a place at next summer’s Euros in Germany after five wins from five qualifying matches, which included a first victory over Spain for 39 years.
And no one has done more to help drive them to the summit of Group A than McTominay, who is revelling in the freedom afforded him by Clarke and has more goals in qualifying so far than Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.
Two goals in a 3-0 win over Cyprus in March were followed up by another brace in that landmark 2-0 victory over Spain three days later and, after playing his part in a dramatic, late 2-1 comeback triumph over Haaland’s Norway in June, McTominay then scored again in a 2-0 defeat of Georgia. On Friday, he got his sixth goal in five qualifying games when he opened the scoring after just six minutes in a 3-0 away win over Cyprus.
Originally a striker rising through the youth ranks at Old Trafford, McTominay ended up being completely recast after growing eight inches and adding 10kg in the space of a year in his late teens but he has retained that eye for goal.
Clarke has played McTominay as part of a back three, and perhaps one of the reasons he has been moved around so much in his career is his can-do attitude and team-player mentality. But the Scotland manager recognises that McTominay is at his most dangerous driving forward, with that licence to get into the box, and the results have been spectacular, to the point that United fans are understandably questioning how he could have been misused for so long at Old Trafford.
Jordan Henderson was given a new lease of life by Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool. At United, McTominay has had many champions in the sense of managers prepared to praise his positivity, leadership and character, particularly given some of the corrosive elements that have existed in that dressing room in recent years. But no one who has sought to truly harness his strongest playing attributes.
Darren Fletcher, the former United midfielder who was part of Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick’s backroom staff and is now working under Ten Hag, has long held the view that McTominay is “a proper old fashioned No 8”.
“He really can be a box-to-box midfielder who can do a bit of everything – break up the play, carry the team forward, get shots off, get a goal, get into the box,” Fletcher said almost four years ago now.
Yes, there are better passers than McTominay, unquestionably, and maybe that is a particular black mark for Ten Hag but, as a coach with a reputation for developing players, it is a surprise the Dutchman has not found more use for the Scotland international in his best position.
More than anything this season, United’s midfield has been crying out for more energy, physicality, drive, mobility and goal threat but Scott McTominay, who offers many of those things, has not had a look in. With Amrabat having now arrived on loan from Fiorentina, McTominay’s chances could become even more limited but maybe Ten Hag is missing a trick.
Scotland supporters will certainly argue he is.
