INEOS face Hojlund & McTominay repeat by ditching £130k-p/w Man Utd duo

There is a nagging frustration among Manchester United fans, and no doubt within the club itself, at the constant reference to their former or loaned-out players, with those success stories used as a stick to beat the Old Trafford side with.

Scott McTominay, one of the more notable departures of the INEOS regime, even recently quashed talk that the Red Devils are the problem, with it simply a fact of football that players move on elsewhere.

Is there the same debate over Manchester City having sold Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer, among many others, in recent years? Or champions Liverpool having allowed Luis Diaz to depart for Bayern Munich?

The difference, of course, is that those two Premier League rivals, and in particular City, have continued to succeed even while moving players on, with United’s continued woes only exemplifying the rich form of their former players.

At a time too when Ruben Amorim’s midfield and centre-forward ranks are again under the microscope, the performances of McTominay and teammate Rasmus Hojlund have been brought into even sharper focus.

McTominay & Hojlund's 2025/26 season so far

From his role as something of a super-sub in his final season under Erik ten Hag, after netting ten times in all competitions, McTominay has taken on talismanic status now at Napoli, following a stunning 18 months in Serie A.

The man who ranked 18th on the Ballon d’Or list helped to steer Antonio Conte’s side to the Scudetto last season, scoring 12 times and registering six assists, including netting a stunning overhead kick to secure that league crown.

Scotland’s Player of the Year to boot, the 28-year-old has again made his mark this time around, registering nine goals and assists in all competitions, including three Champions League goals.

Naples has then been a welcome solace for the oft-maligned ex-Man United man, with the same now proving true for Hojlund, who netted a brace in Sunday’s win over Cremonese.

Now with six Serie A goals under his belt, having also scored twice in the Champions League, the on-loan striker looks like a different player from the one who scored just four Premier League goals all season in 2024/25.

Such a rich vein of form comes as a stark contrast to the woes of both Benjamin Sesko and Joshua Zirkzee, with the pair scoring just three times between them this season back in Manchester.

Like McTominay, the young Dane is proving that life in Italy can be far more fruitful for struggling United stars – could that trend continue in 2026?

Man Utd face McTominay and Hojlund repeat in 2026

Whether funds are available or not, it looks likely to be an active summer for INEOS, both in terms of incomings and outgoings.

On the latter front, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano revealed on Sunday that the aforementioned Zirkzee has agreed to make an initial loan move to AS Roma next month, albeit with United yet to make an official final decision.

The hesitancy over letting him go comes amid the club’s dearth of attacking options, although with the Dutchman having looked so disinterested in the win over Newcastle United, a swift exit would be of no surprise.

Formerly the Serie A Young Player of the Year after scoring 11 league goals for Bologna in 2023/24, the 24-year-old could well pick up where he left off, should he follow Hojlund to Italy’s top-flight.

The pace and physicality of the Premier League appears to have been too much for a player who “belongs to a different era” in the view of one writer, although having already proven himself in Serie A, like ex-Atalanta starlet Hojlund, he could look like a different player altogether back in Rome.

There could also be something of a McTominay repeat too if INEOS also decide to sign off on a departure for Kobbie Mainoo, with the currently sidelined talent yet to start a Premier League game this season.

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A homegrown, academy midfielder, like McTominay, there remains a real willingness for the 20-year-old to succeed at Old Trafford, with Amorim recently outlining the need to “fight” for his place, even amid such limited game time.

Mainoo, however, reportedly has eyes on a move abroad, with a reunion with his two former teammates in Naples having been touted, as he too looks to shake off his current United woes.

Any exit would likely only occur if Amorim and co can require a suitable replacement, but should INEOS sign off on it, they again run the risk of seeing one of United’s own flourish elsewhere, not least with Mainoo having been regularly compared to Serie A great, Clarence Seedorf.

Whether, like in the case of Hojlund and McTominay, moving on the £130k-per-week duo is the right course of action is up for debate, but the Red Devils do risk having to witness, and endure the scrutiny of, two more undoubted talents shining under someone else’s watch.

That might be a risk that INEOS are willing to take, but at a time when United still remain one game away from a crisis with each passing week, they could surely do without even more unwanted narratives.

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