Ex-Man United midfielder Nemanja Matic says his former club ‘have made a big mistake’ selling one of their stars this summer – and that Erik ten Hag will find it ‘difficult to replace him’

Former Manchester United player, Nemanja Matic, has claimed the Red Devils could regret selling a key player after he was sold on transfer deadline day.

Posting on X, the Lyon player shared his opinion that the Red Devils ‘made a mistake’ by selling Scott McTominay without replacing him in this transfer window.

He also praised the player’s new manager Antonio Conte, saying he is a ‘smart man’, with it expected the midfielder can help improve the team’s own title challenge this season.

The post has divided fan opinion on the social media platform, however, as they share different perspectives on the 27-year-old’s transfer away from Old Trafford.

Matic also stated Red Devils’ manager Erik ten Hag will find it ‘difficult to replace’ a player like him, and fill the Scot McTominay-sized hole in his midfield.

Matic says Scott McTominay (pictured) is a ‘hard to replace’ player, after his transfer to Napoli

Matic believes McTominay’s sale could create future problems for United boss, Erik ten Hag

Many fans believe the new £50m-rate midfielder Manuel Ugarte, 23, will give United’s midfield a renewed energy, but others are questioning why a player like McTominay – who has spent his entire career at the club – would be moved on.

One fan summed it up with conflicting feeling: ‘Man Utd decided to be a possession team. And [McTominay] has not got the ability to hold the ball nicely. Still I agree with you. Mctom is the very core of the team’. 

McTominay completed a £25.7million move to Napoli on Deadline Day on Friday, ending his 22-year association with Manchester United.

He had spent his entire club career to date at Old Trafford, having first become involved with the United youth system aged five.

He made his Red Devils debut in 2017, and tallied 255 senior appearances in total for the club, never having been sent on loan.

Mail Sport understands that Napoli will pay a transfer fee in the region of £25.7m for McTominay, who featured off the bench in both of United’s Premier League games so far this season, while a 10 per cent sell-on clause is also included in the deal.

Nemanja Matic considered the transfer a good piece of business for Napoli, crediting manager Antonio Conte as being ‘a smart man’. 

Matic was a two-time Premier League winner with Chelsea, having played for two spells at Stamford Bridge.

In his first, between 2009 and 2010, he was a part of a Carlo Ancelotti squad that lifted the FA Cup, before leaving for Portuguese side, Benfica, in 2011.  

McTominay (middle) has been at United for 22 years having signed for the club aged five

Napoli boss Antonio Conte (right) has been credited with doing a smart bit of business

Scott McTominay (right) joins another United star talent, Jadon Sancho (centre right) in an Old Trafford exit on deadline day of the summer 2024 transfer window

He’d return in 2013 and play a role in Jose Mourino’s league-EFL-Cup-winning side of 2014-15,  and become a Premier League winner again in 2016-17, under the stewardship of Conte in his debut season.

Matic then made a move to Manchester United, where he’d spend five seasons between 2017 and 2022. Stints at Roma and Rennes would follow, before ending up at current club Lyon in January 2024, where he helped pull the French giants out of a relegation through the latter half of last season.