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Apart from high-profile signings, Manchester United also moved on quite a few academy graduates including boyhood fan of the club, Scott McTominay.
The Scottish international made a £25 million move to Serie A giants Napoli, ending his 22-year spell at Old Trafford.
The signing was seen as somewhat of a coup for Napoli with multiple Premier League sides registering their interest in the midfielder but failing to get a deal over the line.
As reported by Sport Witness, Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna has revealed his delight with the capture of the Scotland international despite the presence of other top clubs in the race.
“First of all, I have to say that the player really wanted to come to Napoli. This was really satisfying. If a player who plays for Manchester United in the Premier League chooses to come to Napoli, we should all be proud,” he said.
However, Manna admits the transfer wasn’t a straight forward one after enquiring about the player at the start of the summer window.
IT was the positive relationship built with United over the duration of the market that helped get the deal over the line in the dying embers of the window.
“Initially I didn’t think we could get to closing it despite the contacts that had been made with the agent at the beginning of the transfer market.
“Along the way we continued to maintain these relationships until we sat down with Manchester United, and we understood that the operation could be done,” said Manna.
McTominay made his Napoli debut in a 4-0 away win at Cagliari last weekend, coming on as a substitute for the final 15 minutes.
The 27-year-old is expected to feature in this weekend’s crunch encounter with Juventus, as Antonio Conte’s men look to land an early blow on a title rival.
McTominay’s new side have recovered from a shocking opening day defeat to Verona to win their last three games, scoring nine and conceding just once.
Napoli are currently sat in second place in the Serie A standings behind surprise early pace setters Udinese.
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2024-09-20 20:30:50
