Manchester United said farewell to academy graduate Scott McTominay on transfer deadline day, selling him to Italian club Napoli.
After making his senior debut in 2017, the Scotland international made 255 appearances for the club, chipping in with 29 goals. He was the headline departure from Old Trafford on deadline day, with Jadon Sancho’s loan move to Chelsea, at the time of writing, yet to be officially confirmed.
McTominay was joined in exiting M16 by youngsters Elyh Harrison, Sonny Aljofree and James Nolan departing on loan. But according to a report by the Mail, United had the opportunity to cut their cloth even further with Spanish club Real Betis tabling loan offers for Christian Eriksen and Antony, but their bids were knocked back.
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Antony, who joined United from Ajax two years ago, has managed just one minute of football so far this season. Eriksen has not appeared in any capacity so far this term, being an unused substitute for each of United’s opening three games in all competitions.
United added to their midfield on deadline day, drafting in Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain, meaning Eriksen now faces even more competition for minutes. He is continuing to be linked with an exit ahead of some overseas markets closing next week.
Antony, meanwhile, has never been further away from United’s first-choice starting XI, currently finding himself behind Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Amad in the battle for a starting berth out wide. He has struggled to adapt to life in England and a lot of United fans have run out of patience with him.
Had he and Eriksen been sent out on loan on deadline day, their exits would have almost certainly been welcomed by former United captain Roy Keane. The Irishman last December named a list of 10 players he believed needed offloading and Eriksen and Antony were among them. Appearing on the Stick To Football podcast, Keane was asked which United players he would ‘keep’ or ‘ditch’, or which of them were on their ‘last straw’.
Among those who he chose to ditch were Eriksen and Antony. They both joined United in the 2022 summer transfer window and the former enjoyed a strong first season. However, similarly to Casemiro, he arrived having already passed his career peak. Antony arrived on an upward trajectory after catching the eye in the Netherlands.
However, he is arguably, pound for pound, the worst signing of the Ten Hag era, failing to justify the astronomical transfer fee United stumped up to bring him to M16. Had he and Eriksen departed on loan, Keane would have likely applauded the moves.
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