Scott McTominay, the new king of Naples: How ex-Man Utd midfielder followed in Diego Maradona's footsteps to inspire Napoli to the Serie A title

It's incredible to think about it now, but had Atalanta not hijacked Napoli's deal for Marco Brescianini last August, the Partenopei may not have signed McTominay.

The failure to bring in a midfielder before the start of the Serie A season was a contributing factor to Antonio Conte's meltdown after the dismal opening-day defeat at Verona, with the infamously combustible coach carrying out an even-earlier-than-usual attack on his employers for their perceived failings in the transfer market.

However, sporting director Giovanni Manna kept working right up until deadline day and, on August 30, he managed to sign not one but two Scottish midfielders.

Billy Gilmour, a €14 million (£12m/$16m) signing from Brighton, has proven a useful addition to the squad, particularly during the final few months of the season. McTominay, though, has become an idol at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, a player so popular that he can no longer walk the streets of Naples without being mobbed.

On one particular occasion, he entered a shop in the city centre and re-emerged minutes later to find more than 500 people waiting outside for him, desperate to get a glimpse of their team’s new talisman.

"It had never happened to me before in my career," McTominay told the Gazzetta dello Sport. "Both my girlfriend and I couldn't believe it. Every time people see me they are extraordinary, they want a photo and I want to repay them for their incredible love. It's a beautiful thing."

Manna had told McTominay about the fervour and warmth of Neapolitans when he travelled to the Scotland international's home in Manchester last summer to convince him to move to the Maradona. However, McTominay still wasn't prepared for the reception he received when he actually touched down in Naples after completing his €30m (£25m/$34m) transfer from United.

"When I got off the plane, my mother who was behind me had no idea that the fans were so passionate and affectionate," he told the Gazzetta. "We knew of their connection to the shirt, but we couldn't believe our eyes. It's a moment that I will remember for the rest of my days."

Another unforgettable moment would arrive in his very first appearance at the Maradona, when McTominay scored with his first touch of the ball just seconds after coming off the bench in a Coppa Italia clash with Palermo last September.

"It was very significant for me because I wanted to come to Napoli so much," he explained. "There were high expectations because a lot of money was spent and I wanted to give my best right away. I want to be a player who gives everything in every circumstance."

Unsurprisingly, that level of commitment immediately endeared him to the supporters, but it's also what made him such an ideal signing for Conte, who has always enjoyed great success with teams containing powerful, hard-running midfielders.

He transformed Juventus into a winning machine thanks in no small part to Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio, Chelsea's 2016-17 title triumph was fuelled by the work done in the engine room by Nenmajic Matic and N'Golo Kante, while Nicolo Barella's box-to-box brilliance played a pivotal role in Inter's Serie A win four years ago.

McTominay has been just as integral to Conte's success in Naples.

Conte changed his formation following McTominay's arrival from United as he was in absolutely no doubt that this was a player worth building a midfield around. The basic idea was to ensure that the 28-year-old had the freedom to get forward as much as possible, because Conte saw something in McTominay that an awful lot of other coaches had not.

As McTominay himself has pointed out, he was essentially "misprofiled" at Old Trafford primarily because of his imposing frame, which led to him being used as a No.6 or centre-back. But in Naples he found a coach that was just as convinced that he could do far more damage as an attacking midfielder.

"Scott has goals in his blood," the Italian told DAZN last September. "He's very good at moving forward, has good technique as well as height and physicality. He has, in his DNA, a good number of goals." And Conte was correct.

McTominay has hit double figures in a league campaign for the first time in his entire career, with five of his 12 goals coming during three successive wins in April that led to him becoming the first Scot to be named Serie A's Player of the Month.

He has, as Conte recently pointed out, just got better and better as the season has gone on, thus fully vindicating his decision to make him fundamental to his project at Napoli. "He never had a primary role at Man United, while here we gave him one," Conte told reporters. "He's worked hard and now he's a complete player."

As he proved with his spectacular scissors-kick in Friday's title-clinching victory over Genoa, McTominay is also a player that steps up to the mark when he's needed most.

The January sale of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia could have killed Napoli's title challenge - particularly as the Georgian wing wizard wasn't properly replaced - but McTominay has helped fill the void, sometimes literally by playing on the left flank.

Wherever he's been deployed during the second half of the season, though, McTominay has lightened the weight of responsibility of scoring goals on star striker Romelu Lukaku by so often breaking the deadlock in games - like the 2-0 win over Cagliari - that he's become known as Napoli's 'bottle-opener'.

Some supporters still prefer to refer to him as 'MacGyver' because of his versatility and problem-solving skills but, at this point, he's pretty much universally known as 'McFratm' (McBro in the local dialect) - a nickname given to him by Neapolitan team-mate Pasquale Mazzocchi that even features on a McTominay mural that can be found on a street in the centre of the city.

It was a shrine previously dedicated to the Madonna, but now bears the face of the new icon of the Maradona. Mourinho was right all along about McTominay, then: he really is a special character. And now he's got a Scudetto - rather than a candlestick holder - to prove it.