McTominay to have heart procedure in England, contract talks on hold

Scott McTominay will shortly undergo an ablation procedure to permanently resolve the arrhythmia Napoli officially disclosed in recent days. Before the news broke, the midfielder had been one of the stars of Italian football's Gran Galà awards night.

Napoli and the player are working to schedule the operation for early next week, probably Tuesday. A full month of gradual recovery follows, split between England and Naples, with his return only expected after four weeks of check-ups and further tests, as required by protocol.

On the contract front, nothing has moved. The two sides were never especially close in renewal talks, with a gap between his agent's demands and the club's position — though no rival club made a concrete offer over the summer. Napoli have always wanted to keep Scott, but they need to move quickly to avoid a repeat of the Kvaratskhelia situation: the Scot's contract runs out at the end of this season.

The club is willing to raise his wages, currently just under €4m with bonuses, but is reluctant to go much beyond the €6m paid to Kevin De Bruyne. The former Manchester United player is said to have asked for more than €7m a season.

Talks will resume only once McTominay is able to have them, after the surgery and the weeks of recovery. Health comes first, everything else after.