Solskjaer pans 'important' transfer mistake United made this season

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Manchester United lost far more than just ability when offloading one particular player last summer.

Solskjaer’s connection with Man Utd runs deep having both starred for the Red Devils as a player and subsequently managed the side. The Norwegian will forever be remembered fondly for scoring the winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final to help Man Utd claim a historic treble.

As such, it should come as no surprise to learn the current Besiktas boss was asked about Man Utd during a recent interview with the Athletic.

Solskjaer – who’s returned figures of six wins, one draw and one defeat since taking charge at Besiktas in January – couldn’t help himself from referring to Man Utd as “we”.

With his fondness for the Red Devils hard to hide, Solskjaer was asked whether he still finds time to watch Man Utd games.

The 52-year-old admitted he does, but the bigger story came when suggesting Man Utd made a fatal error when selling Scott McTominay ahead of the current campaign.

“When I can,” said Solskjaer on still watching United matches. “It’s still good to see Bruno Fernandes and Harry (Maguire) doing well. And Scotty [McTominay] is doing well at Napoli.

“I’m upset that we let him go because he was important last season when he kept popping up with goals.

“His heart and his knowledge of the culture were important.”

Were Man Utd right or wrong to sell Scott McTominay?

McTominay produced his best season last year from a goalscoring perspective, notching 10 goals across all competitions for the Red Devils.

Yet the Scotland international remained somewhat unfancied by former boss Erik ten Hag who approved his sale to Napoli.

United generated £25.7m from the transfer and given McTominay’s status as a homegrown player, those funds were logged as ‘pure profit’ on the books.

McTominay has slotted in seamlessly in Naples, quickly establishing himself as a guaranteed starter under Antonio Conte.

McTominay has continued to churn out attacking returns too, with six goals and four assists to his name in Serie A this season.

His efforts have helped thrust Napoli into a hotly-contested title race with Inter Milan and Atalanta. The trio are separated by just three points at present.

But one figure within the media who claims Man Utd were RIGHT to offload McTominay is Manchester Evening News reporter, Samuel Luckhurst.

Luckhurst is no stranger to taking a pop at the club he covers, though in this instance he suggested selling McTominay was the right call.

‘McTominay has scored seven goals (all competitions) for Napoli,’ wrote Luckhurst in mid-February. ‘This time last year, he had tallied nine goals for United. Has he gone backwards? No, of course not. But it fits the narrative to frame it as a blunder by United to have sold him.

‘Four of McTominay’s United goals last season came off the bench. He was an undeniable game-changer and, if used properly, was an asset as a starter. Erik ten Hag eventually realised McTominay’s calling was as an attacking midfielder.

‘Yet he was open to selling McTominay the summer before he left. A manager is entitled to change his mind and Ten Hag did.

‘He wanted to keep McTominay but the financial realities were that United had to sell-to-buy and a specialist defensive midfielder was essential. McTominay was the outgoing and Manuel Ugarte the incoming.

‘Casemiro was unsellable, so McTominay was the one who was always going to make way. If the words profitability and sustainability had not entered the English football lexicon, McTominay might still have been moved on.

‘United miss McTominay’s goal-getting nous and he has as many goals as Rasmus Hojlund this season. He would have been worth trialling as a striker last year.

‘All Antony thriving at Real Betis and McTominay distinguishing himself in Naples highlights is United’s horrendous hit-rate in the transfer market.

‘Antony should never have been signed and, had United not squandered hundreds of millions on duds, they would not have had to sell a homegrown asset in McTominay.

‘Let us not pretend clubs were queuing around the block for McTominay, though. He joined a team that finished tenth in Serie A last season and Antonio Conte has a particular penchant for signing United cast-offs (Romelu Lukaku, Matteo Darmian, Alexis Sanchez, Ashley Young). The only interested Premier League club was Fulham, 13th last season.’

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