Erik ten Hag deemed quite a few Manchester United players surplus to requirements in the summer – including Teden Mengi.
The manager and his coaching staff decided that the academy star was never going to make it at Old Trafford, and subsequently Teden Mengi was let go in August 2023.
It was promotion-bound Luton Town who took a punt on him, which has now come to fruition as their signing of the season.
Mengi has been superb for the Hatters but put in a particularly impressive performance in the FA Cup against Everton.
Stephen Warnock on Teden Mengi
Luton emerged 2-1 victors at Goodison Park over Premier League strugglers Everton to advance to the 5th round of the competition. Mengi was probably the best player on the pitch. His defensive efforts were a huge contributor to the victory.
Stephen Warnock was particularly impressed. He spoke on Match of the Day about the magnificent display of the former Manchester United man.
“The defensive unit, especially Teden Mengi was outstanding today. He was great,” Warnock begins.
“What he’s able to do is to go tight. What Luton do is they’re very brave out of possession, they go 3 v 3, and they’re quite comfortable doing that because of Mengi’s pace.
“Beto’s no slouch, but Mengi is strong, athletic and he’s very physical in the way he defends. I love this defending. Big strong and aggressive.”
Warnock then spotted Mengi making a last-ditch tackle and fist-bumping the air with sheer passion, which he described as: “Quite brilliant”.
They also showed some stats from the fixture, in which Mengi came on top.
“A real quality performance and he has been a steal for Luton this season,” Warnock concludes.
A tough pill to swallow for Manchester United
Mengi is a massive anomaly as a sale. Ten Hag and the club weren’t to know this is how he would perform, but we just have to make sure a repeat of this doesn’t happen again.
The transfer fee is currently not known, but Mengi must have gone for peanuts in the summer. Now, he’s looking like one of England’s top defenders. He’s really making a name for himself away from Carrington.
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