Former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson has heaped praise on the shoulders of midfielder Scott McTominay following his recent upturn in form.
The Scotland international has enjoyed a strong start to 2022, establishing himself as a key fixture in interim manager Ralf Rangnick's squad.
Despite United's clear need for a new defensive-midfield signing, McTominay — who has scored twice since Rangnick took charge — has acquitted himself well in recent weeks, cementing himself in the starting line-up.
Capable of helping out defensively and chipping in with a goal in the final third, the Scotland ace, who has been on United's books since the age of just five years-old, has proven more than worth his place in the side of late.
In Robson's eyes, it is those all-round qualities that make McTominay so impressive, insisting he has it "in his locker" to be a traditional box-to-box midfield player.
"I just think in football, we try to clone people in today's game and even the coaches, they want either an attacking midfield player or a sitting midfield player who protects the defenders," Robson told SPORTbible.
"But if you're full of energy, and you've got great stamina, I still think there's room in the game for box to box players, which I was classed as.
"Players who can score goals and can defend. I just look at one of the young lads at United at the moment, Scott McTominay, I feel he's got that in his locker.
"I'm thankful now that when I'm watching Scott, the last sort of six or seven games, he's got back to being more attack minded, whereas at the start of the season he was back into that sort of mood of where he just felt he was a defensive player.
"I think it's up to coaches to help develop players and make them all-round players, rather than clone them into one thing they can do well."
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