Manchester United’s summer transfer window featured a high number of outgoing transfers to make way for new arrivals.
Ineos’ selling spree cashed in on a high number of players this summer, amid attempts to keep Manchester United’s net spend down.
And while United sold players for high fees cumulatively, there were a number of fees where United fans felt short-changed, for a number of reasons.
£5 million for Facundo Pellistri; £15 million for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and even the high fee of £25 million for Scott McTominay does not quite feel like enough. As he continues to prove.
Scott McTominay scores again
Scott McTominay scored again for Scotland to give his country the lead against Portugal.
It was an opportunistic finish from the midfielder, following up his goal against Poland days earlier.
Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo turned the game around for Portugal, eventually winning 2-1.
Yet the goal was another notable strike from McTominay for his country. He has now scored 10 goals in 17 international games for Scotland.
This is a tally any international striker would be quite happy with. McTominay’s record for a midfielder is excellent.
It continues to pose the question – was £25 million really enough for Scott McTominay?
United did do well to resist cheaper bids, it must be pointed out. Fulham offered slightly more than £20 million, which was turned down.
At that time, United were looking for more like £30 million for McTominay, with the club holding a one-year option on his contract could have been rolled over to 2026.
A club can only, however, assess the offers received, and with no bids arriving in the £30-40 million range, United had to take a pragmatic decision to take Napoli’s offer.
McTominay’s value in real terms should be more. The Scotland midfielder is entering his peak years, and has a rare trait for midfielders, an ability to score goals.
Napoli love McTominay signing
You only need to listen to the reaction to McTominay’s signing in Italy to consider that United probably deserved more from his sale.
McTominay has been hailed as the ‘best Serie A signing of the summer’, while former Premier League star Paulo di Canio has dubbed him as ‘perfect’ for Napoli’s system.
His arrival has been tipped to get Napoli back into the title race, and he has already won over his teammates, who are excited about his signing.
McTominay’s reputation has continued to soar during this international break, adding to the excitement and anticipation in Italy over his arrival.
As one of international football’s most consistent goalscorers over the past 18 months, McTominay is getting lots of credit.
Wouldn’t that have been nice if that had translated into higher offers this summer – perhaps reflecting his true valuation.
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