The 'McFred' disaster ruined McTominay at MU

McTominay has transformed since leaving MU.

Legend Roy Keane insists the problem is not McTominay's ability, but how he is used. Keane has been frank in saying that McTominay's time playing alongside Fred under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has damaged his image in the eyes of fans.

"It's just a bad pairing," Keane said. "Ole always praises them, which is hard to understand. Scott has more quality than Fred, but together they don't create any balance. United lost control of the midfield and that affected McTominay's image. People called them 'McFred'. It became a joke."

Keane also admitted that McTominay has improved significantly since leaving Old Trafford: "He always had the ability to score goals, but at Napoli, McTominay raised his level. Without those goals, perhaps no one would mention him. But to be fair, he proved his worth."

The Irish legend pointed out MU's deeper problem: "They can't buy better players, it's worrying. That's why people keep talking about old players like McTominay. He can absolutely be in the important group of the team, but playing every week is different. MU now spends money on attacking players, but the midfield is still unstable."

McTominay is said to be unsuitable to play alongside Fred.

McTominay is living the best days of his career. Since leaving MU in the summer of 2024 for a fee of 25 million pounds, the Scottish midfielder has completely transformed under the hands of Antonio Conte. He contributed greatly to helping Napoli win Serie A last season, and also won the title of Best Player of the tournament with 12 goals and 4 assists after 34 matches.

Entering the 2025/26 season, McTominay has maintained his impressive form with 5 goals in 13 matches in all competitions. Napoli currently leads the Serie A rankings. Meanwhile, in Manchester, many people are starting to wonder if MU sold the wrong player.

In fact, coach Ruben Amorim in the summer of 2025 only focused on strengthening the attack. The plan to recruit Carlos Baleba from Brighton failed, leaving MU still lacking a comprehensive midfielder like McTominay.

Source: https://znews.vn/tham-hoa-mcfred-huy-hoai-mctominay-o-mu-post1598981.html