Sir Alex Ferguson’s Thoughts on Scott McTominay Are Clear Amid Man Utd Exit Talks

Scott McTominay is on his way out of Manchester United (Image: Getty Images)

Manchester United’s decision to sell Scott McTominay to Napoli may not have gone down well with Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Scotland midfielder, 27, who has been associated with United since the age five, is set for pastures after United accepted a bid of £25.4million from the Italian side. McTominay made 43 appearances last season and started the 2-1 FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May.

However, the academy graduate, who made his senior debut against Arsenal in 2017, has been deemed expendable by Erik ten Hag, who is now to set to land long-term target Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain. After protracted negotiations, United have finally agreed a fee of €50m (£42.3m), with a further €10m (£8.5m) in add-ons.

McTominay’s departure will disappoint many at Old Trafford, possibly including Ferguson, who signed the player as a child. Sir Alex has previously hailed the midfielder’s big-game temperament, telling the Scottish FA’s media channel in 2021: “Scott McTominay is now emerging as one of Man United’s big players.

“When you watch Man United pick their team for a big game, McTominay’s name is in it. He’s a good character, a great trainer. I know a little bit about the boy and I think that’s the background.”

Sir Alex Ferguson has always been a big fan of his fellow countryman (Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

Comparing McTominay to another United stalwart, Darren Fletcher, Ferguson added: “I signed him when he was seven or eight years of age and he was actually a centre-forward as a kid. He’s just sprouted, a little bit like Darren Fletcher. Darren had a few little annoying injuries as he was growing and needed some rest periods and things like that.

“McTominay is of a similar type to Darren – long, lanky, good winner of the ball and a good turn of pace going forward, a great attitude to the game. All these attitudes that Darren Fletcher had, he’s got them.

“Even if you go back to my time with Darren, I very seldom left him out of big games, particularly against Arsenal. He was fantastic against Arsenal and Vieira and I had no problems. McTominay is going forward on those guidelines that Darren pursued for a long time at United. It’s really rewarding for me to see a Scot coming through.”