Celtic reportedly held talks in a bid to try and sign Scott McTominay from Manchester United in the January transfer window – and the Hoops must attempt to revive those discussions in the summer.
Sky Sports claimed in the winter that the Hoops had been negotiating a loan deal with United, but talks obviously failed as McTominay remained at Old Trafford for the second-half of the season.
Celtic’s first priority right now should be deciding who to hire as their next permanent manager, but as soon as Brendan Rodgers’ successor is sorted, the new Hoops boss should be straight on the phone to Man United to try and lure the Scotland international to Parkhead.
IS HE SPECIAL?
McTominay is annoyingly under-used by Manchester United. It looked as though Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was going to hand him a key role after talks with Celtic broke down in January, but since the start of February, the Scotland international has made just eight appearances across all competitions. The 22-year-old ace has been impressive in those performances too. He put in a man of the match-worthy display against Paris Saint-Germain in March and earlier this month netted his first senior goal in the defeat to Wolves. McTominay was on the lips of Celtic legend Sir Kenny Dalglish after that 3-1 win against PSG in the Champions League round of 16.
Dalglish told the Sunday Post in March: “From a Scotland perspective, it was also pleasing to see Scott McTominay being an integral part of the win in Paris.
“For any young Scotsman to go into that environment and absolutely hold his own makes you proud.”
Anyone who can make Dalglish proud has something special about him, in our eyes.
WHERE WILL HE FIT INTO TEAM?
Celtic fans are not overly keen on the way the club has used the loan system in recent seasons. That should not put the Bhoys off signing players on temporary deals because when it’s done right, it can lead to having a player like Patrick Roberts being on fire for a season. McTominay is 22-years-old, has seven senior caps for Scotland and has made 41 appearances in all competitions for Man United – one of the biggest clubs in the world. He is not someone who would shirk from responsibility when playing for a team as big as Celtic. The jersey will not be too heavy for him. Celtic are lacking quality defensive midfielders and McTominay would definitely be a key player for whoever is in charge next season. Paradise would erupt if the Hoops are able to successfully reignite their talks to sign McTominay in the summer.
INTERESTING FACT
McTominay has been in the Man United academy since the age of five and played as a centre-forward until Warren Joyce transformed him into the midfielder we see today.