MANCHESTER UNITED star Scott McTominay reckons he's a footballing late bloomer and will keep playing until he's 40 – with the best yet to come.
The 26-year-old has enjoyed a spell-bounding goal streak for Scotland during the international break.
The Scotsman's remarkable performances for his nation has made the headlines ahead of Tuesday night's "friendly" against England.
McTominay now leads the Euro 2024 qualifying scoring charts with six goals and one assist in five games – ahead of club-mate Rasmus Hojlund and ex-United striker Romelu Lukaku.
But the academy graduate believes he still has more to give.
During an interview with Man Utd, McTominay admitted his peak might come later than the average player thanks to how he developed in the youth teams.
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He told Man Utd: "My dad was brilliant because he would always say: 'Just take your time, son'.
"You're going to grow and you're going to get bigger,' because he knows, doesn’t he?
"As a kid, you don't know that. And you always think: I'm always the latest one."
The 6ft 4in midfielder was always smaller than his peers at school and struggled to make a breakthrough in the United Under-18 team because of his size.
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He missed most of the 2014–15 season due to a staggering growth spurt – shooting up 14 inches within two years.
It was only after that he was able to become the star player he is today.
He added: "When I did grow when I was 17 or 18, I was sat next to dad and I was above him.
"I was like: 'What’s going on here? Four years ago, you were saying to me not to worry, and now look.'
"I’d be thinking to myself: I'm bigger than my dad and he's 6ft 2in… so it's crazy in that respect."
McTominay made his senior debut in 2017 and has since made 211 appearances for the Red Devils.
He has recently fallen down the pecking order of Erik ten Hag's squad with the arrival of Casemiro.
But the midfielder is not concerned and believes he will enjoy a long career at the highest level well into his late thirties.
He continued: "The way I see it now is that I grew maybe four years after everyone else, so my peak years are going to be four years later too.
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"So I’m 26 now and my body age is technically like a 22-year-old.
"When I'm 30, I might feel like a 26-year-old. I might retire at 38 or 40!"
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