As myself and Everything Is Black and White podcast host Andrew Musgrove deliberated over Newcastle's array of summer transfer targets on Tuesday, one name brought about more negativity than most. Scott McTominay.
The 26-year-old continues to be linked with a move to St James' Park this summer and was also a target for the Magpies back in January, with Chronicle Live understanding enquiries over his services have been made in the past.
But McTominay's potential arrival on Tyneside hasn't really split opinion at all. There hasn't been a whole load of debate among fans about whether he would be a welcomed addition to Eddie Howe's ranks. The general consensus among Newcastle fans is that it would be a bad deal. But why?
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This is a Manchester United regular with 202 senior appearances to his name, spanning six years and four different managers. He is one of the first names on the Scotland team sheet and is thought of highly among the Old Trafford management and support.
OK, McTominay isn't the most ambitious signing in the world, he won't bag you 15 goals a season and he may face a battle to hold down a starting role when up against the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton. But he has proven a solid option for club and country in recent years.
McTominay grasped his chance with both hands over the international break, scoring four of Scotland's five goals in victories over Cyprus and Spain. His Hampden Park brace on Tuesday evening proves he has an eye for goal and highlighted his ability to influence games at the top end of the pitch.
Hardly surprising for a player who was deployed as a forward during his Red Devils youth days. "As a kid, I was an attacking midfielder - I like to get in the box," McTominay said after his double for Scotland. "I've got to keep doing that, I know I can add more goals and assists to my game."
The reason McTominay continues to be linked with a move away from Manchester United is due to his game time shrinking since Erik ten Hag's arrival. Casemiro's introduction to life in the Premier League has meant limited opportunities for a player who was a regular starter under Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.
It was Mourinho who gave McTominay his big break in the first team back in 2017 after years of hard work in the youth ranks. The Portuguese coach, who usually has a good eye for talent, even gave the midfielder his own, made up award during an end of season ceremony while in charge at Carrington.
The 'Jose Mourinho Player of the Year award' was created specifically for McTominay back in 2018, roughly two hours before the evening began. With no time to find a trophy to give the young Scot, he was presented with a candleholder instead.
“He’s a special character, a special personality that a team in a negative moment needs," Mourinho said of McTominay while Manchester United boss. “Do my other players have that mentality? Not all of them. Everybody is a different person.
“Scott McTominay is a kid with a special character, very humble, aggressive in a positive way, brave, he’s a special kid."
Howe takes great pleasure in working with players who are not afraid of hard graft. The Newcastle boss has made sure recent additions have possessed positive attitudes and only wants the right type of character in his dressing room.
McTominay ticks those boxes. A grafter, with top level and international experience, an eye for goal, an engine and much more. It has been surprising to see such a negative response to his possible arrival in the north east.
If Newcastle reach the Champions League come May, they are going to need an array of talent - and they could do much, much worse than trying to steal McTominay from their top four rivals.
Manchester United's injury and suspension problems in midfield mean McTominay is likely to start at St James' Park on Sunday. Will Newcastle minds be changed after this weekend?
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