Antonio Conte’s troubled Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund admission is a lesson for Man Utd fans

Add as preferred source on Google

Manchester United fans believe that life at Napoli for Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund is all smiles, but Antonio Conte’s recent comments may suggest otherwise.

Last season’s Serie A winner, Scott McTominay, scored twice for Napoli in the Champions League last night but ultimately fell victim to a 6-2 battering from Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven.

It was a game where summer signing and Manchester United departure Rasmus Hojlund did not feature due to injury, but seven new signings did in Tuesday night’s embarrassing defeat.

This is something Napoli boss Antonio Conte reflected on in his post-match press conference.

Antonio Conte says Napoli bought “too many players”

The former Chelsea and Tottenham boss revealed that he thought the club had been too frivolous in the transfer market, bringing in “too many players.”

He said: “In my opinion, nine new players were too many. We weren’t balanced. I’ve always said this year would be difficult; there are some aspects that need to be absorbed over time. 

“This is the level of the Champions League. We have little to say and a lot to work on, even though we know it will take a lot of effort. I experience the dressing room every day, so I say certain things; we mustn’t despair. We’ll try to recreate last year’s chemistry.

“We need to humble ourselves, I’ve been telling you this for a while.”

“Some people in Naples are blowing smoke, and that’s a club that always needs to be told the truth.

“Both old and new (players) need to step up their game. We all need to step up, regardless of the sending-off. If we want to grow and build something that can make Napoli proud, we need to understand that we need to get back to last year, where only the good of Napoli was at stake.

“This has to return – the good of the individual is useless. The good of the team is what counts, and due to various over-the-top factors, so many situations have arisen that I even enjoyed watching, given how shameless they were. I repeat, Napoli and the Neapolitans shouldn’t be taken for a ride.”

So despite McTominay’s individual heroics, Napoli in Conte’s opinion are still struggling to find cohesion as a team. That’s interesting from a Red Devils perspective.

Man United fans hated seeing Rasmus Hojlund and Scott McTominay thrive

As a Manchester United supporter, there is no worse feeling seeing that either of your former players, deemed ‘not good enough,’ is thriving after leaving Old Trafford.

But Conte’s points are important to note: while everything on the surface looks excellent, there are underlying issues at every club in world football.

Granted, more issues arise at Manchester United than most clubs, but it’s important to reflect on the fact that the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere.

Conte will be hoping his Napoli side, with McTominay and Hojlund included, get back to winning ways as they face a tough clash with Inter Milan this Saturday.