Man Utd manager Michael Carrick looks on vs Leeds
Man Utd manager Michael Carrick looks on vs Leeds
Manchester United are reportedly in the market for another central midfielder this summer, but this rebuild in the middle of the park could easily have been avoided to an extent.
The Red Devils lost Casemiro, who has joined Inter Miami, and Manuel Ugarte, who has sustained an ACL injury, this summer, forcing them to reconstruct their midfield department. Youri Tielemans has arrived in a £35million deal from Aston Villa, while Andrey Santos has joined from Chelsea for £52million.
The two new additions, alongside Kobbie Mainoo, are expected to hold down the fort for Michael Carrick's team in the engine room next season, as well as one additional marquee new signing.
United are weighing up a £68million move for Aurelien Tchouameni, who is seemingly the primary target.
However, things could have been so different had they opted to make a more measured decision just two years ago.
Man Utd made transfer mistake selling Scott McTominay
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In the summer of 2024, Manchester United accepted a £25million offer from Napoli for Scott McTominay. At the time, the Scotsman was a much-maligned midfielder at Old Trafford, criticised for his lack of value in possession, despite excelling at breaking into the box to get on the end of chances.
The United academy product had made 255 appearances across all competitions for the Red Devils, but the north-west club's hierarchy felt it was time to move him on so they could focus on finding midfielders who were more comfortable in possession in deep areas.
This hasn't exactly happened, as since then, before this summer window, the only midfielder who has come into the side in his place is Ugarte. The Uruguayan may be an efficient ball-winner, but he is an extremely limited passer, and has arguably done much more damage to United's build-up than McTominay did.
Meanwhile, the Scotland international has gone on to thrive in Naples, netting 13 goals in his debut campaign at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, winning Serie A in the process. While there was no silverware in his second season in Italy, he again enjoyed another prolific season, scoring 14 goals across all competitions.
Elliot Anderson recently signed for Manchester City for £117million, while Sandro Tonali completed a staggering £100million switch to Tottenham. The £25million fee for McTominay to Napoli now looks rather measly.
Scott McTominay would've been perfect final option in Michael Carrick's team
napoli mctominay
napoli mctominay
Some may argue that the final piece in United's midfield needs to be an out-and-out defensive midfielder — someone who wins the ball back at an elite rate and is merely metronomic in possession, rather than progressive or creative.
This argument isn't unreasonable, and while McTominay certainly doesn't fit this profile, there is an equally valid argument that his set of skills would have perfectly complemented the midfielders already in Carrick's squad.
Tielemans is an exceptional passer who will help United's build-up by breaking the lines with his penetrative distribution from deeper areas. The Red Devils have been crying out for a progressive passer for some time, and they finally have one in the Belgian. Alongside the former Aston Villa man, in games where United dominate possession and are trying to break down a low block, McTominay would be able to leave the ball progression and creativity to his midfield partner and Bruno Fernandes ahead of them. He'd be able to focus on his core strength of being the extra man to break into the box, and this balance would be perfect for this specific game state.
Against more aggressive teams who want to reduce how much of the ball United have, McTominay's combativeness would be useful alongside Santos. The Brazilian put up impressive defensive numbers during his time at Strasbourg, while McTominay has always been competent off the ball, making this a secure double pivot against the better attacking teams in the league. The Napoli man would also help relieve pressure with his aggressive lung-busting runs up the pitch.
As for Mainoo, the United academy duo might not be the most natural pairing. However, Carrick could probably find a way to make it work by dropping Fernandes for a game and bringing in one of the two new signings.
Ultimately, had United not made the decision to sell McTominay in 2024, they'd have a ready-made option to complement their existing options. This would've allowed them to invest in other areas instead of spending an outlandish amount on a new recruit in this position this summer. McTominay never would've been the centrepiece of United's midfield, but he would've been the perfect squad rotation piece for the current iteration of the Red Devils.
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick