Manchester United’s clear out last summer included the sale of Scott McTominay who made his way to the Italian top flight to wear the famous blue of Napoli, under the guidance of Antonio Conte.
The midfielder has impressed since his arrival in Serie A, scoring 7 goals in all competitions to help fire Napoli firmly into the title race with 12 games remaining.
McTominay’s move came after more than 250 appearances for United with a large chunk of them under the tutelage of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Speaking to The Athletic, Solskjaer referred to McTominay’s move to Napoli and expressed his disappointment that United and the academy product have parted ways.
The now Besiktas boss says he keeps an eye on his former players when time allows and is happy to see the Scot doing well, even if it is no longer at Old Trafford.
“[I watch United games] when I can. It’s still good to see Bruno Fernandes and Harry (Maguire) doing well.
“And Scotty 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,” he said.
Solskjaer believes that McTominay’s “heart” and “knowledge of the culture” of the club were important aspects to the 28-year-old’s armory when he was at United, something Ruben Amorim might have benefitted from.
Amorim’s time in Manchester hasn’t got off to the same lightning fast start as Solskjaer’s, who enjoyed a wonderful run as interim coach which led to him securing the position on a permanent basis.
The Norwegian was also quizzed on Amorim’s struggles and believes it’s only fair to judge United’s new head coach when he gets his own players through the door.
“That’s for the people at the top, but an issue is that the manager plays with the previous manager’s players,” he said.
Solskjaer was also asked if he feels what has happened at United since he left has vindicated him and his record at Old Trafford.
“Those last six weeks were hard, I can’t deny that, but we were also top of our Champions League group. It was the two games against City and Watford that did it, but I maintain that finishing second and third in my two full seasons wasn’t bad given the level in the Premier League.
“We also reached a European final, but I see what Jose [Mourinho] means when he says that his best achievement was getting his United side to second in the league.”
Solskjaer has settled into life in Turkey nicely, winning his last five games and losing just once since arriving at the club in January.
United, meanwhile, are lacking goals and struggling badly in the Premier League which has led to questions on whether INEOS made the right choice in letting McTominay leave last summer.
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Conner Botterill
Conner Botterill has been with The Peoples Person for two years. A keen match-going red with degrees in Sport and Journalism and Philosophy and Psychology, Conner still believes he has a chance of making United’s first team through his 5-a-side career.
