Ole Gunnar Solskjaer baffled at Man Utd exit of player ‘you’d put our hat on to give 100%’, ‘Beyond me…’

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Manchester United’s list of sales since Sir Alex Ferguson left is often as troubling as the players they have brought and one in particular has baffled Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

It can be argued that out of all the managers at Man Utd since the 2012/13 season, the transfer made under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has had the best hit rate.

Granted, that’s not a high bar to clear but Solskjaer was someone who “got” the spirit of Old Trafford and worked towards restoring it.

He’s now baffled that one of his most trusted lieutenants at the club has been sold. He’s a player you “put your hat on” to give 100% in most games.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Man Utd sale

The Man Utd squad that Solskjaer took over is almost unrecognisable from the one that takes the field these days and it’s a marker of how much upheaval there’s been.

Ineos have sought to fix that by aligning to a club philosophy instead of a manager’s whims and fancies but that wasn’t entirely the case until this January.

The transfers in the summer still retained a strong hint of Erik ten Hag’s influence but it speaks volumes about a player that even then, his sale didn’t sit right with the Dutchman.

Solskjaer has now echoed those sentiments in regard to Scott McTominay, the Man Utd academy product who’s leading Napoli to a league title now.

Solskjaer said that he was baffled by McTominay’s sale in the summer since he was one of the players whose commitment to the cause could never be doubted.

He said (via BBC): How you can sell Scott [McTominay] is beyond me. For me, Fred and Scott together, really, you know, lads that you’d put your hat on every day to give 100%. Absolutely nailed on.”

Scott McTominay proving Solskjaer correct

The form of a player is not entirely transferable so it wouldn’t be correct to say that McTominay would have had the same impact at Man Utd that he’s having in Italy.

Having said that, what Solskjaer makes a point of regarding the player is inarguable, in that McTominay was someone who personified the spirit of Man Utd.

It has been hinted numerous times that McTominay would’ve been Amorim’s ideal player too, since he values intangibles like professionalism and hard work almost as much as skill and talent.

Ultimately, the player they sold McTominay for, Manuel Ugarte, has become a success at Man Utd as well so it’s more a damning indictment on United’s finances that this needed to happen, more than a mistake by the management.

Solskjaer is still correct though, and McTominay’s exploits for Napoli have only hammered home that point even more.