Manchester United star Scott McTominay has admitted he did not always have an easy journey coming through the ranks at the club.

McTominay was a youth team player who was promoted to first team level by Jose Mourinho.

While he is now a reliable starter whose physical presence managers value, McTominay had a tough time putting on muscle in his youth.

McTominay told FourFourTwo: “I think people would have their eyes opened if they knew how hard players work in the gym, and the level of intensity that's required to push yourself to hit those goals.

“My body has been transformed over the past seven years. At 17 or 18 I was 70kg, at 6ft 3in - now I'm 85kg. I had to work exceptionally hard to put on muscle. I spoke to Paul Pogba about it once. He said, 'when you get to 23, you'll put on the muscle.' But it didn't happen and I remember thinking, 'where is it then?'

“I'm fortunate because I've always had a love of the gym. I like to see marginal gains and I'm competitive in there. The same goes for diet and sleep - I'd say I'm disciplined and that's something I take pride in."