Paul Pogba has credited Napoli boss Antonio Conte as the driving force behind Scott McTominay's impressive performances since leaving Manchester United. The Scotland international earned a place in Serie A's team of the year and was named the league's Most Valuable Player in his debut season under Conte.
Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Pogba recalled telling friends that McTominay would thrive under Conte. 'Antonio Conte,' he replied when asked what had clicked for McTominay. 'Believe me or not, when I saw that Scott would go to Napoli with Antonio Conte, I said, watch. Conte will love him because he has everything that Conte loves.'
Pogba, who played for Conte at Juventus and won two Serie A titles with him, praised McTominay's work ethic and discipline. 'He's a hard worker. Discipline. He trains always like he plays. He's somebody that you know you need to have in your team, that he will give everything,' he said.
The Frenchman also compared McTominay to former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher, highlighting his goalscoring ability. 'Scott knows how to score goals. Scott, Fletch knew how to score goals too. Scott scores goals, scores a lot of goals. In training, he always scores,' Pogba added.
Pogba stressed that McTominay's appetite for running and his 'fire inside him' set him apart in Italy. 'Scott loves to run. He loves that. He has this character, this discipline, this fire inside him. That makes the difference. And with Conte, he can only improve,' he concluded.
