Napoli thought the hardest part was done. By September the club believed it was closing in on a new contract for one of the drivers of last season’s Scudetto. Two months later, those talks have gone quiet.
La Repubblica, in coverage carried by Sempre Milan on Tuesday, reports that McTominay has not moved on signing an extension and that his representatives want more clarity on the club’s project before committing. His current deal, signed when he arrived from Manchester United in the summer of 2024, runs to 2028. The numbers do most of the explaining. McTominay earns around €4.5m net a season and is asking for close to €7m-€8m, while Napoli’s proposal raises the figure but does not close the gap.
If the stand-off is not resolved, Repubblica suggests, Napoli may be forced to listen to offers of around €25m-€30m in January rather than risk losing McTominay for nothing when the deal enters its final year.
Real Madrid already in contact
Real Madrid have already approached McTominay’s representatives about a possible move to the Bernabéu, sportbible reported in October, citing Il Mattino. Aston Villa and Manchester United both made enquiries during the summer window, but neither turned the interest into a concrete offer.
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The Scotland midfielder’s move to Naples in 2024 was pitched as a cut-price buy at the time. Eighteen months, a Scudetto and a run of goal-scoring late runs later, he is now priced like one of Serie A’s assets.
An Amorim reunion at Milan?
The Milan angle adds its own subtext. Head coach Rúben Amorim, appointed in June to replace Massimiliano Allegri, inherited McTominay for a short spell at Manchester United before the midfielder moved to Naples and reinvented himself. A Milan midfield already stocked with Luka Modrić, Adrien Rabiot, Yunus Musah and Ardon Jashari does not scream need, but the club’s recruitment staff is said to be keeping the file open in case the Napoli renewal collapses.
Allegri’s own role in the story is faintly ironic. The Italian took the Napoli job in July, replacing Antonio Conte after the Scudetto, and inherited McTominay as one of his marquee players. Keeping him is now one of the first tests of his tenure.
Back after heart surgery, and scoring again
The negotiations are unfolding against an unusual personal backdrop. McTominay underwent a cardiac ablation in Manchester on 8 September to correct a mild arrhythmia detected by Napoli’s medical staff, and returned to the matchday squad in October once he had been cleared by specialists.
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The on-pitch response followed quickly. McTominay scored twice in a 3-3 draw at Roma on 24 October, his first goals of the campaign, and has since played the full 90 in a 2-0 loss at Juventus and Saturday’s 1-1 with Lazio. His next outing comes at home to Torino on 21 November, with the January transfer window opening around six weeks later.
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