Scott McTominay has named former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira amongst those who he tries to base his game on.
The Manchester United youth product has been enjoying his first full-season as a regular in the first-team this season, having been used sparingly in previous years.
The Scottish international claims that he needs to work on pushing up the pitch more to utilise his ability better for his team, and insists that he watches and analyses the performances of former players for inspiration.
The likes of Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane are named as players he would like to learn from, before claiming that his team-mate Paul Pogba is the best in today’s game.
‘For myself, someone who’s quite strong and a good runner, I should be testing teams more than I do,’ McTominay stated.
‘I should be breaking lines similar to what Paul [Pogba] does, drive into the box and create chances.
‘We always have to have that balance of one goes and one sits, which is so important for a midfield player.
‘Being box-to-box, there’s some amazing examples: Zidane, Patrick Vieira, Roy Keane, driving through the middle of the pitch and were exceptionally good at it.
‘For me it’s important to keep watching clips like that, I get the guys to send them over as much as they can to analyse it.’
The midfielder moves onto to describe his best qualities which gives him the belief that he can push on and give more further up the pitch.
‘You’ve got the physique and the presence to hold people off and the burst of speed where you can get through as well,’ continued the Scotland international.
‘There’s so many good examples of it in world football. Paul’s probably one of the best examples of it, he’s very, very powerful and gets across the grass really, really quickly.
‘It’s a dangerous tool to have in the middle of the pitch as well.’
I don’t quite get the hype about McTominay, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer clearly believes that he is a player in the making, and I’m willing to stand corrected if he is to prove me wrong.
I certainly cannot see him ever being mentioned in the same breath of Patrick Vieira or any of those he aspires to learn from.
Does McTominay deserve more credit? Who is closest to the Patrick Vieira role in our side?
Patrick
