‘The player’s wishes…’: Ashworth all but confirms one ‘terrific’ United ace requested to leave this summer

Scott McTominay is about to oversee his first season away from Manchester United since he was five years old.

On deadline day, the club confirmed that McTominay had pulled the curtains on his 22-year association with United when completing a permanent move to Napoli.

Given that the midfielder is a self-proclaimed boyhood Red and frequently made that clear on and off the pitch, his transfer raised eyebrows. Not only was he on the back of a career-best goalscoring campaign in red, but Erik ten Hag had made clear his desire to keep McTominay at his disposal.

As such, fans came to the conclusion that the board had cherry-picked the Scotland international to be sold for two reasons: one because he was garnering the most interest of any player in the squad, and two, because any funds they recuperated from his exit would give them increased breathing space around the league’s Profit and Sustainability regulations, as McTominay is a homegrown talent.

However, sporting director Dan Ashworth has spoken out to dismiss such speculation in a recent interview, in which he all but confirms the 27-year-old had made the decision himself to embark on a new venture away from Old Trafford.

“One thing we’re forgetting in all these rules and regulations is the player’s wishes as well,” Ashworth said. “I don’t know if I’ve talked about it before, but if a player has an opportunity, and Scott’s been fairly open, that maybe he needed a change. He’s been at Manchester United for 22 years… he’s been a brilliant, brilliant servant. But sometimes in life, you fancy a change and do something different.”

He’d have been well aware that with Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro guaranteed starters, plus the imminent arrival of Manuel Ugarte, game time would be hard to come by, so you can’t really blame him for taking his talents to a Serie A giant like Napoli.