Why McTominay is being compared to Vidal and Matthäus by outlets in Italy | OneFootball

Scott McTominay was amongst the goals again, providing a brace during Napoli’s 2-0 win against Torino over the weekend to send the Partenopei back to the top of the Serie A table with four games of the season remaining, and now the former Manchester United midfielder is earning comparisons to some of the league’s most memorable midfielders by outlets in Italy.

McTominay is now up to 11 goals for the 2024-25 Serie A season, 12 including his strike in the early rounds of the Coppa Italia. This is the most goals scored by a Scotland international in a single Serie A season since Denis Law for Torino over 60 years ago.

The 28-year-old is only one goal behind Napoli’s leading goalscorer for the 2024-25 season, Romelu Lukaku, who has 12 goals and 10 assists to his name in Serie A so far this term.

NAPLES, ITALY – APRIL 27: Scott McTominay of Napoli celebrates with Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Amir Rrahmani after scoring his side second goal during the Serie A match between Napoli and Torino at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on April 27, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Why McTominay is being compared to Vidal and Matthäus

Earning widespread praise for his performances since joining from Manchester United last summer, McTominay has been compared to two very specific midfielders by La Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday.

La Gazzetta (via Napolinetwork.com), points to Antonio Conte’s use of Arturo Vidal during their time together at Juventus.

epa03968071 Juventus’ Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal celebrates after scoring a goal during the UEFA Champions League group B soccer match between Juventus FC and FC Copenhagen at the Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy, 27 November 2013. EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MARCO

The Pink Paper points out that the Chilean also arrived in Serie A from a foreign league – The Bundesliga, having played for Bayer Leverkusen before joining the Bianconeri in 2011.

Like with McTominay at Napoli, Conte moved his formation around in order to get the best out of Vidal in 2011-12, and was rewarded with seven league goals as a result. Vidal then hit 10 goals and then 11 in his next two seasons for the Old Lady.

La Gazzetta dello Sport has also drawn comparisons between McTominay and former Germany captain Lothar Matthäus for his goalscoring record from midfield and for his adaptability and ability to play in a number of different roles across the midfield three.