Schmeichel Questions Manchester United's Decisions on McTominay and Hojlund
Scott McTominay has demonstrated to Manchester United what they overlooked last season, and his new Napoli teammate Rasmus Hojlund is expected to follow suit this campaign, according to former goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.
The 22-year-old Hojlund has netted four goals in six matches for the Serie A leaders since his loan move this summer, which includes an option for a permanent transfer. This goal tally matches the number of Premier League goals he scored for United during the previous season.
McTominay made a similar move to Napoli a year earlier, where his impressive performances earned him the Serie A Player of the Year award and a nomination for the Ballon d'Or.
Schmeichel, who won five Premier League titles with Manchester United, expressed his confusion over the decision to sell McTominay and questioned the rationale behind letting Hojlund go, especially in favor of signing Benjamin Sesko.
“At United, you have a head coach [Ruben Amorim], a director of football [Dan Ashworth], a technical director, and a head of recruitment [Christopher Vivell], all making decisions on player acquisitions,” he stated on the BBC podcast *Sacked in the Morning*.
“The signing of Benjamin Sesko seemed peculiar to me, particularly since we have Rasmus Hojlund, who has been lacking service for two years. Just look at what he’s achieving at Napoli alongside Kevin De Bruyne and Scott McTominay—he’s scoring goals.”
“For over two years, I have consistently said Rasmus Hojlund will be a 25-goal-a-season striker for Manchester United, but he needs adequate service. We let him go based on his low goal tally from last season while bringing in Sesko, even as we could have secured Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo, who would provide Hojlund with top-notch service.”
“We spent over £70 million on Sesko while neglecting the need for a solid defensive midfielder and addressing our goalkeeping situation. This season alone, we’ve conceded nine goals due to goalkeeping errors. When I played, the brief was to win 10 points a season; you don’t give points away.”
“Why did we bring in someone we didn’t need? It seems the head of recruitment, who comes from Leipzig [Sesko’s former club], has to leave his mark.”
“In my day, the manager [Sir Alex Ferguson] made the calls on who came in and who went out. Now, different people with varying agendas are making decisions. How can you create a stable environment for a football team that aims to win every match?”
McTominay has scored 13 goals and provided six assists during his debut season at Napoli, having been with United since childhood. So far this season, he has one goal and one assist.
“What’s he doing at Napoli?” Schmeichel remarked, who also won three FA Cups and a Champions League title at Old Trafford. “He is so Manchester United. The issue was his versatility; managers often preferred players who could only occupy a single position. They didn’t trust him to build the team around him, favoring more specialized players. He was repeatedly a victim of this mindset.”
“Phil Neville faced a similar situation; he rarely secured a starting spot but played many games due to his ability to fill different roles.”
“I don’t understand why both of them are at Napoli. You won’t find anyone more enthusiastic about Manchester United than Rasmus Hojlund. He was writing about playing for the club since he was 10 years old. He’s a huge fan, and the supporters adore him for his hard work and dedication to the team without complaints.”