Ten Hag ended the Man Utd career of €30m star with West Ham decision

Robin Bairner

• 2 Mar 2023 10:00 GMT
• 4 min read

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag might have hailed Harry Maguire and Wout Weghorst’s performance in the 3-1 FA Cup win over West Ham as “dominating”, but that match also spelled what will surely be the end for a long-time servant of the Old Trafford club.

The Red Devils fell behind to a strike from Said Benrahama early in the second half but an own goal from Nayef Aguerd plus late efforts from Alejandro Garnacho and Fred secured a passage through to the quarter-finals, with a home match against Fulham on the cards.

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But while United’s resurgence continued after their Carabao Cup triumph against Newcastle on Sunday, it appears that one player’s time at the club is definitively over.

At the beginning of the season, Scott McTominay kept Casemiro out of the game, but when the Scotland international was withdrawn at half-time, it sparked an uptick in Man Utd’s performance.

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McTominay did not play badly, turning in a solid defensive display, but the presence of Casemiro clearly lifted United. The contrast between the Red Devils with and without the Brazilian was sharp and only reinforces the sense that they need another player of a comparable level to fill in when he is not available.

FootballTransfers has long reported that Ten Hag sees McTominay as a player who is dispensable as of next summer. There were offers for him in January but he was not allowed to leave for fear of leaving the squad short of depth. In the next transfer window, they will have the opportunity to find a replacement.

It was made apparent when he was hooked after 45 minutes, that he has no long-term future at the club.

Ten Hag claimed it was a planned decision but given McTominay’s lack of minutes lately, it was surely a death knell for the academy player.

“I had planned to keep them on the pace, the players love that,” Ten Hag said after the match. “You can rest them for 45 minutes, but they needed a few minutes for Sunday.”

With just one Premier League start since October, McTominay's time at Old Trafford is coming to a close, with nearly 200 matches played across six years.

The Scotland star will have Premier League teams interested in him. With an Estimated Transfer Value of over €30 million, United can cash in on him to pay for a fair portion of his replacement, with Newcastle the team most closely following the 26-year-old.