Radja Nainggolan of AS Roma gestures during the Serie A match between AS Roma and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Olimpico on February 7, 2017 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images )
Former Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan has offered a characteristically outspoken take on Scott McTominay, questioning the Manchester United man’s all-round quality despite his eye for goal.
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Speaking to Sky Calcio Unplugged, via TuttoMercatoWeb, Nainggolan said: “I don’t like him. He scores a lot of goals, but in general play… he’ll always get 12, 13, 14 goals, but if he has to build play he doesn’t have the technique to operate between the lines. He’s an average player.”
Nainggolan: I was better than McTominay & Calhanoglu
The Belgian did not stop there, comparing himself to a range of midfielders past and present. “At my peak I was better than him and Hakan Çalhanoğlu, but I put Nicolò Barella above myself. He doesn’t always score many goals, but when he does they are important, and you can always feel the difference when he plays.”
He added: “I really like Kevin De Bruyne, he sees things others don’t. I’d put him above me. And if you mention Luka Modrić… he has always been one of the best in the world.”
Nainggolan also reflected on Serie A, insisting Inter’s title win came as no surprise.
“If you asked me at the start of the season, I would always have said Inter. They have the strongest squad and play the best football. Napoli and Milan got close, but they don’t have the same consistency.”
On Roma, he added: “It’s difficult to judge them, they are inconsistent. I don’t like the style of play, and with a player like Dybala you expect more games. Roma should never be outside the top four.”
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