Scott McTominay has been in fine form for Manchester United of late and has even managed to keep new signing Casemiro on the bench in the early stages of the season.
The international hiatus gives us a good opportunity to look under the hood and see where it has shined and where it can improve further.
With 1.3 interceptions, 1.7 tackles and 5.7 wins per 90 minutes (Sofascore), McTominay has been instrumental in helping his team win the ball back in a midfield built around the creative talents of Christian Eriksen and Bruno. Fernandes.
He has also been reliable enough on possession, with a consistent 82% completion rate despite looking to play more positive passes overall.
Interestingly, his passes have not suffered from altitude sickness at all, with 83% accuracy on passes completed in the opposite half.
McTominay’s retention of the ball has been aided by his exceptional 73% dribbling success rate, which has often been used to great effect to escape opposition pressure.
The stats certainly seem to highlight the Scot’s uptick in performances under Erik ten Hag, but there are still areas where he can improve.
As noted above, his demise has been okay, if not spectacular in terms of accuracy and creativity, so while he’s on the right track, there’s more to be done there.
His impressive dribbling numbers have also been a double-edged sword at times and McTominay has been guilty of holding the ball for too long on a number of occasions.
This happens particularly often in the final third, leading to a failure of good attacking opportunities.
The ability to refocus on his options on the fly is difficult to master, but if McTominay improves his awareness and decision-making after a flurry forward, United will benefit from the quicker interaction the midfielder could offer.
A common problem for McTominay has also been his general involvement in possession: making himself available to his teammates. It’s still something he seems to struggle with with a fairly low touch count of 45.3 per game.
However, this is somewhat mitigated this season by being used as a ‘pessimist’ in midfield.
McTominay will often counterrun rather than offer himself as a passing option, essentially assuming the next pass his teammate makes will give up possession and be ready to win the ball back from the opposition immediately.
That approach has its merits, but a top-class holding midfielder can usually prepare for the worst-case scenario and offer to recycle possession with the same move.
If McTominay really wants to keep Casemiro out of the team, that kind of move is what he will have to offer.
Given his resistance to pressure and ever-improving passing ability, he should be a much more valuable player in possession than he currently is.
Having shown early signs of embracing Ten Hag’s methods, the future looks bright for Scott McTominay.
