Selling him was the biggest mistake of the club – Robbie Savage

Selling him was the biggest mistake of the club – Robbie Savage

 

TV Presenter Robbie Savage during the UEFA Champions League 2023/24 round of 16 second leg match between Manchester City and F.C. Copenhagen at Eti…

 

Manchester United’s start to this Premier League season has been nothing short of disastrous.

 

The Red Devils sit 13th in the table after six games, and many of the problems that were present last season are continuing to persist.

 

Indeed, Manchester United’s midfield is still way too easy to carve through, and the signing of Manuel Ugarte doesn’t seem to have helped matters, at least not yet anyway.

 

Speaking on BBC 606, Robbie Savage has been discussing United’s ongoing midfield issues, and he’s claimed that Ugarte isn’t a good fit for United.

 

Savage believes that Kobbie Mainoo needs to be partnered with a player who is more mobile, and, for that reason, he believes it was a serious mistake to sell Scott McTominay to Napoli for £25m this summer.

 

Scott McTominay of Manchester United during the 2024 FA Community Shield match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium o…

Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images

Scott McTominay sale a mistake

Savage shared his verdict on United’s midfield and the sale of McTominay.

 

“He (Mainoo) needs somebody, and I’m surprised about them getting Ugarte, because Kobbie Mainoo needs someone who can get up and down, and I think that it was a big mistake selling Scott McTominay, I really do,” Savage said.

 

Scott McTominay is missed

It has to be said that Savage has a point here.

 

 

McTominay, for all his flaws, was always a reliable option for United, and he scored multiple valuable goals last season that arguably kept Erik ten Hag in a job.

 

McTominay has started brilliantly at Napoli, and there is a real case to make that he’d be starting in this United midfield at the moment based on the respective form of Casemiro and Ugarte.

 

Manchester United just can’t seem to get anything right at the moment, and McTominay isn’t the only departing player who seems to have improved.

 

 

Indeed, it’s a similar story for Jadon Sancho at Chelsea.

 

For some reason, players seem to improve when they leave Old Trafford these days, and that is a damning indictment of the manager’s ability to get the best out of his squad.

 

 

Jamie Carragher has come down hard on Matthijs de Ligt for his role in Manchester United’s recent devastating loss to Tottenham.

 

 

De Ligt, who joined the Red Devils from Bayern Munich in the summer, was expected to strengthen the team’s defense.

 

However, United have conceded a total of six goals in their last two home games in the Premier League, raising concerns about the team’s defensive capabilities.

 

During Sunday’s match against Spurs, United fell behind early when Brennan Johnson scored just 155 seconds into the game after Micky van de Ven’s charge forward caught the defense off guard.

 

While Gary Neville criticized Marcus Rashford for his part in the goal, Carragher pointed the finger at De Ligt, highlighting his poor positioning and lack of awareness on the field.

 

According to The Mirror, Carragher expressed his frustration with De Ligt’s inability to fill defensive gaps and cover for his teammates.

 

He emphasized the importance of communication and teamwork in the backline, urging the Dutch international to take more responsibility for the team’s defensive lapses.

 

In addition to Carragher’s criticism, former United midfielder Paul Scholes also questioned De Ligt’s impact since joining the club. Scholes called for the players to take accountability for their performances and work together to improve the team’s overall play.

 

As United fans continue to lament the team’s defensive struggles, all eyes will be on De Ligt to deliver a stronger performance in the upcoming matches

and prove his worth to the Red Devils’ faithful.