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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has shared his honest admission on the summer sale of club academy graduate Scott McTominay. The 27-year-old midfielder made the first move of his career, switching Old Trafford for Italy with a reported €30.5 million move to SSC Napoli.
McTominay entered a brilliant run of goalscoring form with the Red Devils, scoring 10 goals and providing three assists in 43 appearances across all competitions. It is worth noting that in the 255 games he played for United, he scored a total of 29 goals, with over a third coming in his final season at the club.
However, his quality in front of goal as a midfielder was not enough to keep him at Manchester United. He has taken his goalscoring to Napoli, where he has already scored twice and provided an assist in just five games.
Erik ten Hag opened up on having to sell McTominay, explaining that he would have preferred if the midfielder stayed. The manager said (via Fabrizio Romano on X):
"I didn't want him to leave but it is the rules. The clubs have to deal with the Financial Fair Play rules and the rules are not great. The rules are, I would even say, bad... it forced us to make this decision."
The Premier League has dictated that clubs cannot make a loss of over £105 million across any three years. Manchester United essentially had to sell McTominay to reduce their recent losses and stay on the right side of these regulations.
Manchester United manager Ten Hag slams sack rumors
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has slammed rumors that he could be axed, following a rather poor run of form with the Red Devils. Despite winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024, United currently sits in 14th place on the Premier League table after seven games.
This has led to rumors that the club hierarchy are prepared to let Ten Hag go, but he hit out at these reports during a press conference, saying (via Manchester Evening News):
"No, the noise is only coming from the media, from some of you, not all of you, creating stories and fairytales, bringing lies because I know we're on one page within this club. I said before the break but several journalists probably didn't believe me. Within the club, it's quiet."
Manchester United will face Brentford at Old Trafford in the Premier League today (October 19) and Ten Hag will be hoping for a win to boost their position in the table.
