Roy Keane has disagreed with Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s assessment of Manchester United’s sale of Scott McTominay to Napoli in 2024.
Scott McTominay departed Manchester United at the start of the 2024/25 Premier League season in a deal worth around £25-30 million, as Erik ten Hag sought to ease Financial Fair Play pressures following the previous summer’s sale of James Garner for similar reasons.
After spending his entire career at Old Trafford, McTominay made the move to Napoli, where he quickly became a fan favourite thanks to his remarkable goal-scoring exploits from midfield.
In his debut campaign, the Scotland international made 36 appearances, scoring 13 goals and providing four assists, helping Napoli clinch the Serie A title and earning the league’s Player of the Season award.
His prolific form in front of goal was so impressive that he has since been shifted to the left wing, with Kevin De Bruyne taking up a central midfield role.
McTominay was good enough for the old United
While McTominay made his debut under Jose Mourinho, to date, he has played more games under Ole Gunnar Solskjær than any other manager, with 115 games to his name under the former United manager.
He was often used as a defensive midfielder alongside Fred under the Norwegian manager. However, he was occasionally deployed as a box-crashing midfielder, a position that has since made him a hero in Naples.
On the Stick to Football podcast, Solskjær was asked how he felt when Ten Hag sold the player, to which he said, “I was almost shocked, because I feel you need a core of local lads — people who really get the club. And Scott did.
“He’s shown in Italy what a good player he is; I think he’s top class. He’s also got a great character and personality, exactly the kind you want around the place, someone who sets the standards. He’d have survived when we played, 100%.”
Continuing, Solskjear pointed out: “He was voted Serie A Player of the Year last year and won the league with Napoli, so I think Scott’s one of those players you only truly appreciate once he’s in your squad — you see how good he is and how important he can be for the team overall.”
Keane disagrees with McTominay sale shock factor
Despite Solskjær’s shock, his former teammate, Roy Keane, disagreed. The former United midfielder pointed out that as McTomiany was simply a squad player at Old Trafford, it would have been hard for United to turn down the figure Napoli bid for the Scottish international.
“You’re talking about a squad player,” Keane replied. “What did they get for him? £30 million, was it? You know what I mean, sometimes £30 million for a squad player isn’t bad.
“I’m sure United needed to bring some money in as well. It’s not a bad deal if we were classing him as just a squad player; sometimes you’ve got to take that.”
“I know, I’m always a bit wary when lads leave and go to a club like Napoli. Obviously, Napoli are a big club, but they’re not Man United. It’s a different kind of challenge, and he’s done really well — fair play to him. Hopefully that continues for a few years.
“But I’ll be honest, I was never hanging my hat on him every week at United, thinking he’d be the one to bring the club back. When you’re classing him as a squad player and someone offers £30 million, that’s not a bad deal. At the time, that’s exactly how we saw him; a good squad player.”
Altough Keane may have a point, the gripe many United fans now have with the McTominay sale was that it was used to fund the signing of Manuel Ugarte, who has failed to win over the Old Trafford faithful with subpar and inconsistent performances across his 18 months since.
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