Rio Ferdinand uses Irish legend as example in questioning Manchester United's sale of Scott McTominay
Scott McTominay looks set to be joining Napoli.
Rio Ferdinand has questioned why Scott McTominay is being allowed to leave Manchester United.
McTominay's 22-year association with the club appears to be at an end with the Scottish International expected to join Antonio Conte's Napoli in the coming days. Manuel Ugarte is due to arrive at Manchester from Paris Saint Germain to bolster United's midfield options.
Ferdinand is less than pleased with the decision to sell McTominay however and believes the versatile midfielder should have been kept on to fulfil a squad player role in a similar manner to John O'Shea and Darren Fletcher in years gone by.
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O'Shea was rarely if ever a guaranteed starter for United in his 12-season stint in Manchester. However, his injury profile and versatility meant he was an important squad player for Alex Ferguson during his trophy-laden stint at Old Trafford.
“I look at Scott McTominay, and not every player can be a star standout player or a franchise player,” Ferdinand said on 'Rio Ferdinand Presents.'
“I always say this, to win the league you need the likes of a John O’Shea, a Wes Brown, Darren Fletcher, Chicharito, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from when we were at United.
“Or you need the likes of [Julian] Alvarez when he was at [Manchester] City, who can come in. Like last season, Jeremy Doku was coming in and impacting games even though not necessarily always starting all the games.
“Those players are huge. You need those players and they understand the DNA, especially the ones who come through the academy. Man United have always stood by that."
Furthermore, Ferdinand believes it's a risk to try and replace McTominay with a new player that may take time to settle while with McTominay, you knew exactly what you were going to get.
“It really doesn’t sit well with me. To replace him you are going to have to spend, £30m, £40m, £50m and it’s not going to be cheap to replace him.
“It’s a gamble, you don’t what you’re going to get with that next player, whereas with him you know what you’re getting. It’s on the tin, he turns up when he’s playing, might not always be an eight or nine out of ten, but he is a good seven and every now and then he will be an eight and get you a goal.”
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