Pat Nevin: McTominay and Gilmour’s success is great for Scotland (Interview for NewBettingSites.uk)

Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin has told NewBettingSites.uk that he believes Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour’s success at Napoli will be a huge boost for Scottish football.

Napoli have not yet secured the Serie A title but are in pole position to do so, just needing to beat Cagliari at home to get their hands on the trophy. Nevin feels this jeopardy will make the potential title win all the more special for McTominay and Gilmour.

Speaking to NewBettingSites.uk, Nevin said: “Scotland have got Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, Lewis Ferguson and Che Adams all playing regularly in Serie A – it’s brilliant for the national team. It’s been particularly good for McTominay and Gilmour, because all Napoli need to do to seal the title is win their last game. It’s not as though they’re playing Juventus or one of the Milan teams either, they’ve got to beat Cagliari at home, which they’ll be expecting to do. They’ve got it in their own hands.

“I’m quite pleased it has gone down to the final game because the Napoli fans will just be off the scale! They will be able to celebrate winning the title properly. I’m so happy for both of them and it is huge for Scottish football as well.

Nevin also noted that McTominay, aged 28, and Gilmour, aged 23, will be key players for Scotland for years to come in international tournaments. Alongside, John McGinn and fellow Serie A player Lewis Ferguson, Nevin believes the two Napoli midfielders will provide excitement for Scottish fans on the major international stage.

He added: They’ve never lacked belief and what they’re achieving now is not only brilliant for them, but also amazing for Scotland too. Both of them have enough years left in the game to play at multiple major tournaments, so it’s pretty exciting for Scotland to have those two in the engine room alongside the likes of John McGinn and Lewis Ferguson.”

Billy Gilmour is good enough to play for Manchester City

Nevin has been steadfast in his support of Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay in recent years. The former Scotland international explained his previous disbelief at the fact neither were regular starters in the Premier League.

“Both McTominay and Gilmour have been rejected by clubs and seen as surplus to requirements,” he said. “When they couldn’t get consistent game time at Manchester United and Chelsea, I was asking why. At any point in their careers you can look back and I was always asking, ‘why are they not playing every week?’ Wherever they were, whenever it was. I’ve never swayed from my opinions on those two and now I’m a bit smug about that.

“Even in Billy’s early days at Chelsea, I couldn’t get my head round why they weren’t giving him more game time. The same goes for Scott, especially in his last couple of seasons at United. I was thinking, ‘are you joking me? Why is he not playing?’ They weren’t playing as a team and they weren’t playing their best team player! It was madness.

Nevin feels the former Chelsea midfielder’s ability on the ball means he could operate at the highest level on a consistent basis, suggesting a move to Manchester City would have suited him due to their style of play.

“I believe Billy is good enough to play at the highest level and would suit most top teams. If he had signed for Manchester City and been given game time, I think he would have been brilliant. He would have fitted in nicely and controlled games from the midfield. He’s that good.”