Rio Ferdinand has sharply criticised Manchester United’s decision to sell Scott McTominay to Napoli.
The Pitch Prospect understands the midfielder will leave the Red Devils after the two clubs agreed on a £25m deal. Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte is set to move to Old Trafford for a reported £50m.
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The Uruguayan has been a top target for manager Erik ten Hag all summer, but United legend Ferdinand believes his former club could live to regret the deal.
Academy graduate McTominay was promoted to Old Trafford’s youth team at the age of five and has since made over 250 appearances for his boyhood club.
Although he has struggled to establish himself as a regular since making his first-team debut under Jose Mourinho in 2017, the 27-year-old is a key player in ten Hag’s squad and has a knack for scoring crucial goals.
And Ferdinand is convinced that McTominay’s qualities make him exactly the type of player United need if the club are to challenge for titles again.
The former defender, who won the Premier League Cup six times in twelve years with the Red Devils, criticised the decision in his podcast “Rio Ferdinand Presents”.
He said: “I look at Scott McTominay and think that not every player can be a standout star or a franchise player.
“I always say: To win the league you need people like John O’Shea, Wes Brown, Darren Fletcher, Chicharito [Javier Hernandez]Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from when we were at United.
“Or you need people like [Julian] Alvarez, when he was at City, can come on as a substitute. Last season Jeremy Doku came on and influenced games, even if he wasn’t necessarily in the starting eleven in every game.”
Ferdinand stressed the Scottish international’s reliability and consistent performances when needed and described the move to replace him with an expensive new signing as risky.
He continued: “These players are great, you need these players and they understand the DNA, especially those who come from the academy. That’s what Man United have always stuck to.”
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“I really don’t like that. To replace him you’ll have to spend £30, £40, £50 million and probably give him £150,000 a week. It’s not going to be cheap to replace him.”
“It’s a gamble, you don’t know what you’re going to get with the next player. With him, on the other hand, you know what you’re going to get, it’s in there, he’s there, he shows up when he plays.”
“He may not always be an eight or nine out of ten, but he is invariably a good, solid seven. And every now and then he is an eight and scores a goal.”
Despite starting just 18 Premier League games last season, McTominay scored seven goals, including braces in 2-1 wins over Brentford and Chelsea in the first half of the season.
He was also involved in United’s entire winning streak in the FA Cup, including the final against Manchester City, where he scored two goals.
Meanwhile, his potential successor Ugarte is set to move to Old Trafford after a season at PSG, where he made 37 appearances and won the Ligue 1 title, the Coupe de France and the Trophee des Champions.
United will pay £42 million up front for the 23-year-old, with additional services adding another £8.5 million. He is due to fly to England today for his medical.
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