His Manchester United exit has helped turn Scott McTominay into a Napoli superstar – but his former boss Erik ten Hag has been left with nothing but regret over the transfer.
The Dutchman was finally told that time is up on his Old Trafford tenure after two and a half years in the hot seat after defeat to West Ham. The Red Devils are languishing in 14th spot in the table having picked up just 11 points from the opening nine games – their worst ever start to a Premier League season.
While defeat to the Hammers proved to be the final straw for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the board, it’s far from the first time that Ten Hag was feeling the heat during his ill-fated reign at Manchester United. After finishing a lacklustre eighth in the table last season, rumours were swirling that the FA Cup final against Man City would be his final game in charge.
But after ending the season with a 2-1 win over Man City and a trophy in the cabinet the boss was given the nod to continue under Ratcliffe and the INEOS regime. Speaking after the game, Scotland star McTominay came out swinging on behalf of the gaffer.
He said: “Sometimes people can have their opinions and say whatever they want. City are an amazing team, but we stuck together. I want more moments like that. I came away from that FA Cup final thinking, ‘D’you know what, I want more of that’. That is my motivation.
“Every credit to Erik. The media makes it difficult. That’s the case for any Manchester United manager, given the magnitude of the club. That’s only normal, but he’s handled it extremely well.”
But, the 27-year-old wasn’t given the chance to pick up any more silverware at the club – with the 22 year association with United coming to an abrupt end in the summer despite hitting double figures for the club. He has since emerges as a key man for Antonio Conte’s men – helping Napoli to the top of Serie A.
Ten Hag would but the blame on the decision to green light the £25m exit on growing concerns about Financial Fair Play rules. Speaking earlier this month amid McTominay’s flying start to life in Italy, he conceded he did not want to sell the midfielder.
He said: “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.”
McTominay was one of the rare consistent players to emerge during Ten Hag’s era in charge. After the versatile star netted 11 goals last term, the axed boss must be wondering how different things could have been had he been able to keep the academy graduate at the club.