At the age of 18, Manchester United academy player Scott McTominay experienced a growth spurt that saw him shoot up from 5ft 6in to 6ft 4in in the space of two years.
His recent elevation to United first team regular has been similarly dramatic and it’s increasingly apparent that Jose Mourinho values the midfielder highly.
McTominay has unwittingly become part of the Paul Pogba saga at Old Trafford, but it is only fair to also concentrate on his qualities and progress in the recent past.
Here’s everything you need to know about McTominay.
Scott McTominay holds off Sevilla’s Steven N’Zonzi during Wednesday night’s goalless draw
McTominay started ahead of Paul Pogba for the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie
Remind us how often McTominay has played for United
The majority of United fans became aware of McTominay at the tail end of last season when Mourinho, seeking to rest his best players for the UEFA Europa League, called him into the first-team squad.
McTominay made his debut on May 7 with a six-minute cameo in the 2-0 defeat at Arsenal and then started the final Premier League fixture of the campaign against Crystal Palace.
It was by no means certain McTominay, 21, would stay at Old Trafford last summer but Mourinho clearly spotted his potential and more regular football has followed.
He has now featured in 14 matches for United this season, starting eight of them, with the match against Sevilla in the Champions League by far the highest-profile so far.
The 21-year-old midfielder impressed by doing the simple things effectively against Sevilla
How did he get on against Sevilla?
McTominay certainly didn’t look out of place on the greatest European stage, producing a professional and composed performance to help United to a 0-0 draw.
Most notable was his running and work rate, important in ensuring United kept Sevilla danger men Steven N’Zonzi and Ever Banega at arm’s length.
It wasn’t that McTominay necessarily needed to make the final challenge, or pick the spectacular pass, often his presence was sufficient.
That seems to be the role he thrives in at the base of the United midfield, diverting opposition attacks down a cul-de-sac, picking the simple pass on the occasions he did have possession of the ball.
There was much chatter when the team line-ups revealed Mourinho had dropped Pogba to the bench, favouring McTominay in midfield alongside Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic.
But an early injury to Herrera meant Pogba played the majority of the match anyway, releasing some of the pressure from the situation as the apparent friction between Pogba and his manager continued.
McTominay attempted one shot during the match at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, a left-footed curling effort from 25 yards that didn’t seriously test Sergio Rico, but most agreed he didn’t put a foot wrong in the biggest game of his life.
McTominay competes for a 50-50 ball with Sevilla’s Sergio Escudero on Wednesday night
United boss Jose Mourinho was effusive in his praise of McTominay following the Sevilla match
What is it about him that Mourinho likes?
There are two strands to this. The first is the on-pitch McTominay and Mourinho was full of praise for the youngster after Wednesday night’s draw.
He said: ‘He had a fantastic performance, he looked a senior player, a player with great maturity, with tactical sense, with a sense of responsibility.
‘He was good in possession, good in pressing. I think he looked like a man with dozens and dozens of matches in the Champions League when this was only his second [European start].
‘If I was one of you [journalists], I would ask of the Manchester United manager agrees that Scott McTominay had a fantastic performance, and my answer would be ‘yes”.
The last part of that answer owed much to the fact Mourinho had fielded a number of questions on why Pogba started on the bench.
Indeed, in a moment of humour, Mourinho hugged BT Sport reporter Des Kelly after he asked a question about McTominay’s mature performance, rather than another one about Pogba.
Mourinho said: ‘Can I hug you? Thank you, that’s a question. I went to the press conference before, and the questions were about Paul. The question should be about the kid.’
He then added: ‘I think he was fantastic, he did everything well. He put lots of pressure on Banega which was important to stop him playing.
‘He was always comfortable, simple saving in possession. He was brilliant.’
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho was delighted with Scott McTominay against Sevilla
Mourinho was keen to talk about McTominay, rather than fact that he took Paul Pogba’s place
When the reporter asked him about McTominay, the United boss gave the interviewer a hug
You haven’t heard Mourinho speak so highly of one of his players for a long time and certainly not of Pogba.
The second strand is the off-field personality and it’s clear that Mourinho likes the non-flashy way McTominay presents himself.
Speaking after last weekend’s 2-0 win at Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup, a match in which McTominay completed the full 90, Mourinho said: ‘I think Scott deserves more than what he is getting.
‘Maybe it’s because he’s this kind of kid profile: a normal haircut, no tattoos, no big cars, no big watches, humble kid, arrive in the club when he was nine or 10 [actually, McTominay joined aged five].
‘Last season, he was almost leaving the club to go somewhere, who knows where, who knows in what division he would be playing now.’
McTominay has enjoyed more and more first-team opportunities at United this season
‘Normal haircut, no big cars, no big watches, humble kid…’ That’s surely a dig at Pogba, right?
It could be certainly read that way, especially given the tensions between the pair.
With those words, Mourinho could easily be describing the red-haired, bling-wearing, Bentley-driving Frenchman.
But it isn’t fair on McTominay to compare him to Pogba, even if they do occupy similar areas of the pitch. One is a supremely talented player worth £89million, the other has barely started his career.
McTominay has been caught in the Pogba cross-fire, but so far hasn’t been hit. He has kept his head down, concentrating on playing to his strengths and his own performances.
To be honest, if he can continue doing the simple things well and maintain the trust of Mourinho, then he could go far.
Pogba, red streak in his hair, receives tactical instructions from Mourinho before coming on
So what does the future hold?
There’s no way that Pogba will be out the United side for much longer, but it’s also clear that McTominay will continue to receive opportunities.
United continue to compete on three fronts – the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League – and McTominay’s first full season could yet be embellished with a winners medal.
McTominay signed a new contract with United back in October, committing him until June 2021 with the option to extend for a further year.
Mourinho has made it clear that United’s priority at the end of the season will be to replace the retiring Michael Carrick.
It’s more than likely United will open their chequebook and attempt to sign a world-class central midfielder, casting doubt on whether McTominay will be involved as much next season.
McTominay collides with Huddersfield’s Terence Kongolo during the recent league fixture
McTominay has spoken of how he has been inspired by the progress made by Marcus Rashford, whom he played with in the under-16s, and Jesse Lingard, academy products who have both carved a niche in the first-team.
Between now and the end of the season, he has a window of opportunity to convince Mourinho that he doesn’t need to spend big.
In fact, one of the main criticisms of Pogba is that he isn’t keen on the defensive duties his role entails, preferring to push forward and express himself.
At Juventus, he excelled because there was always someone behind him as cover willing to do the defensive donkey work.
Perhaps the unfussy McTominay, deployed in that deep-lying role, could be the player to liberate Pogba?
McTominay, celebrating with Alexis Sanchez at Yeovil, looks every bit a United player
What about the international scene?
McTominay was born in Lancaster but has never played for England at any level. He is eligible for Scotland through his grandparents and they have made overtures in recent months about a call-up.
Malky Mackay, the Scottish FA performance director, asked McTominay back in November when in caretaker charge of the Scotland team, whether he would consider a call-up.
But McTominay told him he was focused on a breakthrough at United and hadn’t yet decidied on his international future.
Now that Scotland have appointed Alex McLeish as their coach for a second time, McTominay can certainly expect another phone call.
Indeed, Mourinho, making a phone gesture, said in a recent interview: ‘Because it looks like England is missing him, if I was Alex McLeish, the first thing I would do would be to come to me.’
McTominay pictured playing for United’s under-23 team last year before his elevation