Sporting director admits he is “proud” of transfer that left Manchester United fans fuming

One sporting director has admitted that he is proud of a transfer he secured that left many Manchester United fans fuming on deadline day.

Manchester United‘s 2024 transfer window was highly eventful, bringing about major changes at Old Trafford.

Erik ten Hag strengthened his squad by securing the signings of five first-team players: Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, and Manuel Ugarte, all brought in over the summer.

Read More: Man United star criticised for “crazy” mistake this summer, it is Erik ten Hag’s “main issue”

At the same time, the club saw the departure of key figures like Scott McTominay, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jadon Sancho, and Mason Greenwood, raising over £120 million in transfer fees during the window.

Although many of these sales did not cause too much update among United’s fanbase, the sale of McTominay hit many reasonably hard.

The Scottish international was a United academy graduate and was pivotal in winning multiple games last season, so when his sale to Napoli for around £25 million was announced on deadline day, many fans were left fuming at the decision.

However, Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna, as relayed by CalcioNapoli24, has explained that he is proud that he managed to secure the transfer and that McTominay was keen to move to the Serie A club.

“First of all, I have to say that the player really wanted to come to Napoli. This was really satisfying. If a player who plays for Manchester United in the Premier League chooses to come to Napoli, we should all be proud,” he said.

“Initially I didn’t think we could get to closing it despite the contacts that had been made with the agent at the beginning of the transfer market.

“Along the way we continued to maintain these relationships until we sat down with Manchester United, and we understood that the operation could be done.”

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