While many Manchester United supporters have yet to digest the departure of Marcus Rashford, perhaps they should be more rueful of Scott McTominay and his agonising exit.
Rashford was sent on loan to Aston Villa in January after being infamously excluded from Ruben Amorim’s plans.
Despite showing positive signs over the past few weeks, the attacker has been bluntly told he has no place at Carrington as long as the Portuguese tactician reigns supreme. Hence, he will have to seal a permanent move in the summer, whether to Villa or a new club.
Nevertheless, Liverpool legend Graeme Souness argues the Red Devils must be kicking themselves for allowing McTominay to slip through their grasp. The Man Utd youth product had been a key figure at the club in recent years, but was sold to Napoli last summer on a €30-million deal and is now flourishing at the Stadio Maradona.
“Oh, how Manchester United must regret selling Scott McTominay, whose penalty gave Scotland a win in Greece on Thursday night,” wrote Souness in his column for the Daily Mail.
“He’s a fantastic modern footballer. A high-energy, box-to-box workaholic who chips in with important goals. He was 27 years old and not hurting United with his wages when the club’s ‘decision-makers’ thought it was a bright idea to sell him to Napoli for £25million.
“McTominay has flourished at Napoli. Maybe United should be asking themselves how much it will cost to get him back.”
Man United should be biting their fingers for letting Scott McTominay leave
Moreover, TalkSport had recently shed some light on the Scotland international’s amazing exploits in Naples this season.
The 28-year-old was granted a hero’s welcome upon his arrival, and he immediately repaid the supporters’ overwhelming love by cementing himself as a protagonist in Partenopei’s surprising Serie A title push under the guidance of Antonio Conte.
His brilliant displays even forced the Italian manager to drop his famous three-man backline and adopt a 4-3-3 formation just to accommodate him alongside Stanislav Lobotka and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.
Moreover, the report recalls how his towering header against Udinese earned him comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic leap against Sampdoria in 2018 during his time at Juventus.
McTominay is now ‘worshipped’ among the Neapolitans who bestowed upon him the biggest honour one could receive in the famous metropolitan city: naming a pizza after him.
