Manchester United Cashing In On McTominay Would Represent A Good Deal

After West Ham United sold Declan Rice for a British record of £105 million to Arsenal earlier in the transfer window, it was always clear that Manchester United’s Scott McTominay would be a player of considerable replacement.

McTominay, who plays internationally for Scotland, broke through at the Red Devils in 2017 under José Mourinho, and has 209 appearances for the club in the space of six years.

It is fair to say that the Manchester United midfielder has been on the receiving end of a vast amount of criticism over the past few years, which has not helped the perception of the player that he is.

Partner predominantly with Fred under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, McTominay was an easy target when games began to get away from the Red Devils for the lack of bite in midfield.

But, as seen for Scotland, McTominay can and arguably should be used as more of a box-to-box or advanced midfielder, rather than that of a holding one. It is unfair to fully judge McTominay when partnered with the Brazil international, given neither are true number sixes.

McTominay has been used as a scapegoat and a poster boy of the Solskjaer era, which ultimately ended in failure and disarray, but there are far more layers to the Scotland international’s game that most are unaware of.

The Red Devils are holding out for £40 million this summer, which should be well within West Ham’s budget given the fee they commanded from Arsenal for Rice.

McTominay, at 26, is entering the prime of his career with plenty more to give. It might just well take a manager like David Moyes and a change of scenery to unlock his full potential on a regular basis.

When the United academy graduate has gone to Scotland for international duty, Steve Clarke has got the best out of him. Used as a marauding midfielder, McTominay has the license to get forward, knowing that he has competent players behind him to cover.

In McTominay’s last four European Qualifying games for Scotland, he has found the back of the net on five occasions. There have been a few purple patches of form for Manchester United where he ends up on the scoresheet or contributes in front of goal in one way or another – it is one of his outright assets.

At West Ham, Moyes is likely to use him in a similar fashion to Rice and allow him the license to move forward where Tomas Soucek remains rooted. In a less possession-based team, and one that produces more counter attacks, McTominay’s runs into the box will be a very useful asset to have in the team.

It is best for all partiers – McTominay, Manchester United and West Ham – to conclude this deal quickly ahead of the start of the Premier
PINC
League season.

Fans of the Red Devils will look back on McTominay’s time with mixed emotions, but it signifies another academy graduate breaking through to the first team and appearing more than 200 times.