Scott McTominay, Napoli's Scottish midfielder, begins the 2026 summer window as one of the clearest constants in a club that is shedding personnel and installing new leadership. With Massimiliano Allegri confirmed as the successor to Antonio Conte, and contracts expiring for Eljif Elmas and Juan Jesus, the squad around McTominay is being dismantled and rebuilt simultaneously.
The significance of that stability is not cosmetic. Napoli finished the 2025-26 Serie A season in second place with 73 points from 37 matches — a campaign that required consistent midfield output across a long, competitive run. McTominay delivered it. In 32 appearances he contributed 10 goals and three assists, carrying an average rating of 7.10. Those are not the numbers of a squad player navigating a difficult year; they are the numbers of a midfielder who absorbed pressure and produced when the table demanded it.
The departures of Elmas and Juan Jesus, whose contracts expired on 1 July, thin the squad at both ends of the pitch. Sporting director Giovanni Manna has been direct about the club's transfer logic: outgoings must precede incomings. That constraint shapes how McTominay's role is likely to evolve. With Elmas gone, the midfield carries less depth, which places greater weight on McTominay's consistency heading into pre-season under Allegri.
Allegri's arrival — confirmed after he resolved his contract with AC Milan — introduces a different tactical philosophy from Conte's. Where Conte demanded relentless pressing and positional intensity, Allegri has historically built around structural discipline and the exploitation of transitions. McTominay's profile — a box-to-box midfielder with a demonstrated capacity to arrive late into scoring positions — fits that model reasonably well, though the adaptation will require time.
At 29, McTominay is entering the phase of a career where continuity of environment matters as much as individual form. The contract extension discussions reported in recent weeks suggest Napoli's hierarchy views him as a foundation rather than a transitional asset. An AI overall rating of 75 out of 100 reflects a player operating at a high functional level, and the gap between that figure and his potential rating of 72 suggests he has already exceeded the ceiling the model initially projected — a detail worth noting when evaluating his long-term value to the club.
Napoli's summer is still in its early stages, with Manna navigating multiple fronts including reported interest in Genoa forward Ekhator and defensive targets elsewhere. The roster will look different by August. McTominay, for now, is one of the few names certain to be in it.