Scott McTominay has reportedly been tasked with keeping an eye on Inter Milan playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu when Serie A leaders Napoli go to San Siro on Sunday.
The midfielder has quickly hit the ground running since swapping Manchester United for Naples in a £25million move last summer and has helped Antonio Conte’s go a point clear of Inter at the league summit ahead of the weekend’s huge fixture. Turkey star Calhanoglu has been one of the top performers in Italy in recent seasons and was crowned as Serie A ‘s midfielder of the year last season, scoring 13 times as Inter romped to the title with five games to spare.
The 30-year-old has been in fine form in the first four months of the new campaign, but according to Gazzetta dello Sport, Conte has a plan to stop the I Nerazzurri metronome from keeping his team ticking. They report that Conte intends to use Scotland star McTominay and tricky wide man Matteo Politano to try and negate Calhanoglu’s threat.
They say that dynamic midfielder McTominay will be told to immediately close his opposite number down whenever he is in possession while Politano assists him and keeps one eye on marauding Inter wing-back Federico Dimarco. However, McTominay’s compatriot and new club teammate Billy Gilmour may miss out on Sunday’s clash despite his classy displays in recent weeks for Napoli.
The former Brighton and Chelsea man has filled in well in the absence of Slovakia star Lobotka, but with the latter now fit again boss Conte admits Gilmour might be dropped at San Siro against Inter – who he led to the Scudetto in 2021. Speaking to the media, he said: “Lobotka? We all know his value, that said we have to be good at trying to create something that can make up for a single absence.
“Gilmour has done very well in these games, you will never hear me complain because a player is missing. We have a squad and we have tried to do it as much as possible to make up for some problems or injuries.
“I have faith in the players. Lobotka started again in the middle of the week with us, we managed him but he is fine and has recovered. He is available, whether he can start from the 1st minute or not is to be assessed.”