Manchester United have told Napoli to make them an offer they cannot refuse for Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay.
Napoli are in talks with United and boss Antonio Conte wants McTominay to boost his midfield options. The Serie A side would prefer a loan move for McTominay, even though United feel he is worth at least £25million.
McTominay, 27, has just 11 months left on his contract, although United have the option to extend it until 2026. United rejected a £20m offer from Fulham for McTominay and they are adamant they will not let him leave unless the deal is right for them.
Although Erik ten Hag may not see McTominay as an automatic starter in his new-look side, he proved his worth to United last season, scoring 10 goals. United will happily keep McTominay if they do not receive a satisfactory offer.
Ten Hag claimed in July that he had no intention of selling his midfielder. “We have very good players so there will always be an interest from other clubs,” he said. “When you score 10 goals in a season and also perform very good for Scotland, then there will be an interest.
“But we want to keep him because he is a very important player for our squad. What he can contribute, as we saw last season once we had our sixes available, he could play in a more advanced role and he is a highly interesting player for our team.”
United will be without Luke Shaw for Friday’s Premier League opener against Fulham, but the left-back shouldn’t be out for long. “I think he will return in the short-term, doesn’t take long,” Ten Hag said.
“We are looking forward, of course. Luke Shaw is a very important player for our team so he’s massive, important, we want to get him back as soon as possible but we can’t force this process.”
Ten Hag can call upon new arrival Noussair Mazraoui to plug the gap in the meantime. “We were looking and we can sort problems over the left side,” he said of the Morocco international, who joined on Tuesday from Bayern Munich. “For instance Licha Martinez and Diogo Dalot are capable of playing there.
“Mazraoui is an additional one who can fill the position as long as Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia aren’t in the team. They are different and I think it’s quite difficult to put him under pressure, especially in English football, that can be very beneficial.”
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