Rio Ferdinand says clubs would be bidding £100 million for Scott McTominay 'right now' if one thing changed

Scott McTominay would command a transfer fee of £100 million if his name was 'McSaucio', according to former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.

It has been a campaign to remember for the in-form McTominay, who scored 12 goals in 34 league matches for Antonio Conte's Napoli as the Azzurri lifted a historic Serie A title win on the final day of the season.

The 28-year-old Scotland international, who joined the Italian club from Manchester United last summer after playing a bit-part role at Old Trafford, netted a scissor kick to help his side beat Cagliari and secure silverware.

Having played such an instrumental role in Napoli's recent success, many have applauded McTominay for his contribution, including former United centre-back Rio Ferdinand, who heaped praise on the midfielder during his Rio Presents podcast.

In fact, Ferdinand went as far as saying that McTominay would be "going for £100 million" if his surname was different.

Speaking on the podcast alongside presenter Joel Beya, he said: "If his name was McSaucio, he's going for £100 million. Because he's Scott McTominay and he's Scottish, nobody is talking about big fees or Real Madrid looking at him."

As well as being Napoli's second top goalscorer behind Romelu Lukaku, the revitalised midfielder lifted the Serie A MVP award in his debut campaign season in Italy.

Ferdinand suggested the likes of Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag failed to play McTominay in his best position at Old Trafford.

“What an upturn in fortune," he said on his podcast. "You've got to respect the way he’s gone about his business. He’s playing to type, not doing anything different from what we expect from him.

“The managers before didn’t play him in his best position. Manchester United have made a massive [mistake] in getting rid of him. He’s the type of player that you wanna keep. I wasn’t too sure if he’d start but he was definitely making an impact.”

McTominay has become a fan favourite at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Image credit: Getty

McTominay, who made a total of 255 appearances for boyhood club United, recently admitted he was "misprofiled" during his early days at the Premier League club.

Speaking to The Athletic, he said: "When I got into the first team, I was quite misprofiled in where I was playing. It wasn't the fault of any coaches. My strengths have always been getting into the box, scoring goals, being a problem in there.

"But I was being used as a number six or as a centre-back, and that has never really been my game. But when you're playing for Manchester United and you're 20, you can't knock on the manager's door and say that you expect to be playing at number eight ahead of Paul Pogba. It's not realistic."

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