Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has claimed that Sir Alex Ferguson wouldn’t have sold Scott McTominay to Napoli.
The Scotland international was a key first-team player for Man Utd, but never quite a guaranteed starter, and the club allowed him to leave last summer.
Since leaving, however, McTominay has taken his game up a level with some superb performances with Napoli, where he won Serie A last season.
Solskjaer worked with McTominay and is a big fan of his, explaining on this week’s episode of The Overlap that he would have kept him and that he thinks Ferguson would have too.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Scott McTominay’s Manchester United exit
There’ll certainly be a fair few United fans who were disappointed when McTominay left, and even more so now after witnessing his revival in Italy.
Solskjaer praised the 28-year-old and made it clear he felt he’d have been someone that Fergie would have valued in one of his squads.
“I think he’s (McTominay) top and a great character,” Solskjaer said. “Personality you want in and around the place, like, sets the standards, and he’d survive when we played, 100%.”
He added: “Scott is one of them that you only know when you’ve got him in your squad how good he is. And how important he can be for a squad.”
Scott McTominay eyed for transfer back to the Premier League
McTominay’s fine form in Serie A is understood to have United looking at potentially bringing him back, while others like Newcastle and Tottenham are also interested, as first reported yesterday for the Daily Briefing.
The former United man will surely be pretty happy with his life in Italy right now, but it will be interesting to see if anyone comes in with a tempting offer that could convince Napoli to sell.
Solskjaer is also the kind of manager who might be in the frame for a Premier League job at some point in the near future, in which case perhaps he’ll be one to watch as he might want to work with McTominay again.