Scott McTominay involved in late Napoli Serie A drama as ex-Man Utd teammate jets in to solve issue

It looked like Napoli were going to be held by the Sardinians, who they defeated back in May to clinch only the fourth Scudetto in the club’s history. On that night, McTominay opened the scoring with a spectacular bicycle kick, but it was a much harder evening for Antonio Conte’s men.

Midfielder Frank Anguissa was the hero for Gli Azzurri on this occasion, converting after good work from Alessandro Buongiorno in the final minute of stoppage time. Moments earlier, McTominay had been denied by in-form Cagliari keeper Elia Caprile.

McTominay once again started for Napoli, exactly a year on from completing his move from Manchester United to Italian football. He has emerged as the poster boy for the Neapolitan crowd since his arrival, although his performance was more muted on Saturday evening.

Fellow Scotland internationalist and Napoli teammate Billy Gilmour was left on the bench as the hosts searched for a winner. He and McTominay will now link up with the national team squad ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Denmark and Belarus in early September.

When they return to Napoli, they may well have a new teammate. Napoli remain a little light up front following a three-month injury lay-off to main striker Romelu Lukaku. They missed the Belgian’s presence against Cagliari.

Axed Man Utd man set to help Napoli

As a result, Napoli have brokered a deal with Man Utd for McTominay’s former Old Trafford teammate Rasmus Hojlund. The Dane is out of favour under Ruben Amorim and flew into Rome on Saturday evening to complete his medical.

Hojlund is reported to have agreed a loan deal for the rest of the season after a fee of £5m was brokered, although the transfer could be made permanent next summer for around £40m if Napoli qualify for the Champions League. All being well, he could make his debut in a fortnight’s time against Fiorentina in Florence.

Elsewhere in Serie A, Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson was an unused substitute for Bologna as they won 1-0 at home to Como. The Rossoblu winner came just before the hour-mark through Riccardo Orsolini. Moments earlier, Como introduced Nicolas Kuhn as a sub, who was signed from Celtic earlier in the transfer window.

Ferguson has been recovering from a muscle strain and he is also due to join up with the Scotland squad on Monday.

On Sunday, fellow Scot Lennon Miller will hope to make his Udinese debut away at Internazionale, while Che Adams’ Torino are at home to Fiorentina.