'Bad call' – Manchester United told they made £25m transfer mistake
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Old Trafford legend Jaap Stam believes his former club Manchester United made a mistake selling Scott McTominay to Napoli.
McTominay completed a £25m move to Naples last summer, ending his 22-year association with the Premier League giants.
The Scotland international first joined Manchester United at the age of six and spent 15 years in the club’s academy before making his first-team debut in 2017.
McTominay had racked up 255 appearances for his boyhood club by the time he was sold to Serie A side Napoli.
The 28-year-old has enjoyed a bright start to his career in Italy, helping Napoli climb to second in Serie A – just two points behind leaders Atalanta – and earning praise from manager Antonio Conte.
Manchester United hero Stam believes it was a mistake to sell McTominay and says he would have been ‘keen’ for the Scot to stay at Old Trafford.
‘Scott McTominay has been a very important influence at Manchester United even though he wasn't a guaranteed starter,’ Stam told Sport Lens.
‘He scored goals and had a big impact and those are the players you don't want to lose as a football club.
‘Leaving might've been a good step for him, as is currently being discussed with Marcus Rashford, but he may well have wanted to stay.
‘He has been a very important player for Napoli and his confidence is growing because he is starting most games and overall I think selling him was a bad call at United.
‘Sometimes you have to make tough decisions as a club and I understand that, but I wouldn't have been keen to sell McTominay.’
Following his departure from Old Trafford, McTominay said he would have ‘snapped your hand off’ to have the United career he had.
‘I’ve absolutely loved it and I’m very, very grateful for the football club and I’m ready for a new challenge and I’m ready to go and embrace it and take it by storm,’ he said.
‘I want to see Manchester United win, I want to see us do really, really well and I’ll be watching as well. Thank you for having me and I have enjoyed every minute.’
Ex-United boss Erik ten Hag, who was sacked last month, suggested at the time that he did not support the decision to offload McTominay.
‘I’m very happy for him,’ he said. ‘It’s also [a good deal] for us, but it is mixed because I wouldn’t prefer to lose him because he’s Manchester United in everything.
‘He was so important for our team, for Manchester United, but unfortunately it’s the rules.
‘We have to discuss the rules, when you have to sell and obviously homegrown and academy players bring more value, that’s not the right thing to do.
‘But I think for everyone, for all parts it’s a good deal. For Scott, he’s happy with it, for Napoli a very good player, but also for us.’
While McTominay’s current club Napoli are in title contention heading into the second-half of the season, his former side Manchester United are just 13th in the Premier League going into Christmas.
United have blown hot and cold under new boss Ruben Amorim, suffering a humbling 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth at the weekend.
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