Man Utd chiefs need ‘arresting’ for ‘giving away’ £30m star as Ratcliffe considers using buy-back clause

Manchester United have been blasted for offloading Scotland international Scott McTominay to Serie A giants Napoli in the summer.

The Red Devils were busy in the summer as they spent around £185m on new signings. They acquired Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte.

Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his recruitment team were patient as they bided their time to acquire their top targets. Their budget was boosted by a couple of notable sales, as McTominay joined Mason Greenwood and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in being offloaded for fees.

McTominay was linked with several Premier League and European clubs before he joined Napoli. The Serie A outfit paid an initial £25m to sign the midfielder and the potential cost of this deal is £30m with add-ons.

The 27-year-old was initially expected to leave Man Utd during the 2023 summer transfer window amid interest from West Ham, but he stuck around and was one of Erik ten Hag’s stronger performances last season.

Despite this, McTominay was sold to Napoli for a pure profit sale and he’s made a superb start to the season.

McTominay’s new manager – Antonio Conte – has used him as an attacking midfielder and he’s grabbed two goals and an assist in his five appearances across all competitions.

READ: The Media don’t want Ten Hag sack; why would we want the circus to end?

Earlier this month, Italian journalist Riccardo Trevisani claimed someone “stupid” at Man Utd needed to be “arrested” for selling McTominay.

“McTominay scored goals, he carried the cross, he had determination and yet they kicked him out! Nothing works at Manchester United, a club that only does stupid things, you can’t guess anything,” Trevisani said.

“They killed every player, Højlund, De Ligt, Antony, Rashford, now Zirkzee, even Casemiro, it’s a joke, there is no comparable team, they should be arrested. PSG are scientists in comparison! They have thrown away managers, coaches and players in recent years. They have no idea what they are doing.”

Former Premier League forward Paolo Di Canio agrees with his compatriot. He said: “I would go to Manchester United to arrest all the directors: how do you give McTominay away?”

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Man Utd also cashed in on 21-year-old Alvaro Carreras in the summer, but a report in Portugal claims he could soon return to Old Trafford.

The left-back failed to make a single senior appearance for Man Utd and Benfica made his initial loan deal permanent in the summer for around £4m.

The Spain U21 international has impressed for Benfica at the start of this season and is being linked with several European giants.

The report claims Man Utd, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are ‘closely monitoring’ the defender, while Atletico Madrid and Juventus are mooted as other potential destinations.

Man Utd are said to have an advantage over their rivals as they have the benefit of a buy-back option, but the Carreras’ new price is currently unclear.