Besiktas boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed one Manchester United summer sale “upset” him and he’s also praised two of his former players.
There have been major changes at Man Utd over the past year following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover of the Premier League giants.
A huge overhaul is ongoing at Old Trafford as Ruben Amorim looks to bring the good times back to Man Utd, while Scott McTominay was a casualty during last year’s summer transfer window.
The Scotland international was one of United’s better performers during their dire 2023/24 campaign but was sold to Serie A giants Napoli in the summer for around £25m plus add-ons.
McTominay has been a revelation at Napoli as former Chelsea and Spurs boss Antonio Conte is getting the best out of him. He has seven goals and four assists in his 28 appearances this season.
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The midfielder’s exit “upset” Solskjaer for two reasons, while he’s reserved praise for two current Man Utd stars.
“It’s still good to see Bruno Fernandes and Harry (Maguire) doing well,” Solskjaer said in an interview with The Athletic.
“And Scotty [Scott McTominay] is doing well at Napoli. I’m upset that we let him go because he was important last season when he kept popping up with goals. His heart and his knowledge of the culture were important.”
Earlier this season, he said: “I’m very happy for Scott.
“As I said, when he left, I didn’t want this but that’s the rules the club had to deal with. The rules are, I would even say, bad, but that’s the situation created. It forced us to make this decision.”
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When asked whether Man Utd need to show more patience with their managers, Solskjaer answered: “That’s for the people at the top (of United), but an issue is that the manager plays with the previous manager’s players.
“I just remember a great time at United apart from the last six weeks. Great people — and the culture is in the people. Going back to United was like going back to my family, like I’d never been away.
“But Besiktas also feels like a family club, with respect for each other. There are members of staff who’ve been here for 10, 20, 30 years.
“It’s good to be back and at a club like this, with this level of players. I want to test and try what made me successful before, and I’ve got my core beliefs and a way of coaching, but also the new things I’ve learned when I’ve been out of a job — tactical tweaks and trends in the game.
“Football is always evolving and I need to build a style of play. We’ll get this season done, do as well as we can and then, from the summer, we kick on.”
