Manchester United are no strangers to making mistakes in the transfer market, which is something Ineos want to address, but they might be about to repeat one.
After spending more than £200m on three attacking signings and ending up with zero scored goals in 180 minutes of league football, Man Utd need to reassess their squad.
Chances created have made Ruben Amorim confident that United will score goals, but they can’t end the window as one of the few clubs who didn’t sell a single player permanently.
Unfortunately, in this mission, they are about to repeat a mistake that created a Ballon d’Or contender after leaving the club.
Rasmus Hojlund and Scott McTominay of Manchester United warm up ahead of the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on April 04, 2024
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Man Utd have been here before with Scott McTominay
Man Utd are no strangers to players leaving the club and finding a second wind in their careers, but Scott McTominay’s rise defies belief.
The midfielder left United as a professional, but functionally limited player who had become a scapegoat for United’s failings.
A season, a league title, the league MVP award, and a Ballon d’Or contention later, McTominay has proven what many thought about him at Old Trafford.
McTominay was mis-profiled as a destroyer in midfield due to his physicality, when his best attributes are used further forward.
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Antonio Conte maximised his strengths, hid his weaknesses, and the result is a player whom the Italian media has fallen in love with.
United didn’t empower the player. Instead, they tried to shoehorn him into what they needed, and they are repeating that mistake with another player who will soon be McTominay’s teammate.
Rasmus Hojlund will succeed at Napoli
A year after selling McTominay to Napoli, Conte is at it again, identifying a player who has been set up for failure at United.
Rasmus Hojlund is close to joining Napoli, and if Benjamin Sesko’s two Man Utd appearances are any indication, the Dane will be a very happy man indeed.
Sesko hasn’t received any service, which is a fate Hojlund will be all too familiar with.
In contrast, Antonio Conte signs players with a clear plan in place, and with Kevin de Bruyne passing to him, and McTominay making those third-man runs, expect Hojlund to flourish in Naples.
After all, you don’t lose physical tools overnight, and half of his troubles seem to stem from a lack of confidence in himself after two poor seasons.
What is easily wiped off, however, is that in those seasons, he was thrown into a dysfunctional team that couldn’t score goals, let alone involve their striker in the game.
Hojlund will flourish for Napoli, and Man Utd fans will again be left to wonder what’s wrong with the club.