Erik ten Hag was “talking a load of rubbish” when he claimed he was disappointed to see Scott McTominay leave Manchester United for Napoli, according to former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown.
McTominay is a boyhood supporter of United and a product of their youth system, playing 255 games for the club in all competitions.
The Scotland international has scored 29 goals and provided eight assists during that time, including seven goals in the Premier League last season, winning the Europa League, FA Cup and EFL Cup titles along the way.
But McTominay has not always been a successful starter and this summer he became the subject of intense transfer speculation with clubs both in England and abroad courting his signature.
In the end, it is Serie A side Napoli who have won the race to sign McTominay, who has already been announced as part of a busy summer window for the Partenopei, who have also signed the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Billy Gilmour and David Neres.
Ready to crash! ??
? #ProudToBeNapoli | #ForzaNapoliAlways | #WelcomeMcTominay pic.twitter.com/JHSsBln1JZ
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) August 30, 2024
In their press conference on Friday, Ten Hag expressed their disappointment at losing McTominay.
“It’s a bit of a mixed bag. I’m very happy for him and he’s happy for us too, but it’s mixed, because I wouldn’t rather lose him, because he’s Man United in every way,” Ten Hag told reporters (via Manchester United website). “He was very important for our team, for Manchester United. He was here for more than 22 years.”
Has Hag “talking rubbish” about McTominay, says Brown
During his time under Ten Hag, McTominay made just 28 of his 58 Premier League appearances and just five of his 12 Champions League and Europa League games combined.
It’s this lack of consistent runs in Man Utd’s starting XI that Brown has slammed Ten Hag’s comments for, claiming the Dutchman “didn’t treat McTominay well”.
“I think Erik ten Hag was talking a lot of rubbish when he said he was disappointed about Scott McTominay leaving,” said the former Man City, Leeds and Tottenham Brown midfielder. BBC Sports.
McTominay has given everything to Manchester United and whenever there has been an opportunity to leave him out, Ten Hag has done so.
He continues to be treated like the local player instead of the player he is. The manager has not treated him well.
I’m sure other players have to play at times, but McTominay hasn’t been treated well.
