Ten Hag standing firm over predicted £40m Man Utd sale to leave Newcastle, West Ham fretting

Erik ten Hag has been commenting on the future of midfielder Scott McTominay as the Scotland international continues to be heavily linked with a move away from Old Trafford this summer.

The 27-year-old central midfielder is reportedly attracting interest from fellow Premier League sides Newcastle and West Ham, while Tottenham have also been mentioned in some dispatches.

McTominay has spent his whole career at Old Trafford but has struggled to hold down a regular starting spot since Ten Hag took over as the Red Devils boss.

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The Scot, who has only just returned for pre-season training after representing Scotland at the Euro 2024, did not feature for United in their 2-0 friendly win over Rangers at Murrayfield on Saturday.

However, when quizzed about the player’s future, Ten Hag made it clear that he has no intention of sanctioning a sale, even if PSR leads United to do exactly that.

“We have very good players so there will always be an interest from other clubs,” Ten Hag said on McTominay. “He scored 10 goals last season and also performed very well for Scotland, so there will be an interest. But we want to keep him because he is a very important player for our squad.

“He can contribute as we saw last season. He can play in a more advanced role and he is a highly interesting player for our team.”

McTominay is expected to join up with the squad next week as the Red Devils head for their US tour, with a game coming up against Premier League rivals Arsenal in California next weekend.

Diallo ticks all the boxes

They warmed up for that trip by overcoming Gers, with new boy Leny Yro making an impressive debut alongside goals former Ibrox loanee Amad Diallo and youngster Joe Hugill.

Diallo was one of the more impressive players against the Scottish side and Ten Hag revealed he has high hopes for the 22-year-old Ivorian going forward.

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The Dutchman added: “He has made very good progression. The last two seasons he was on loan and was planned to play a role. But then he had a very bad injury last season in pre-season and dropped him a little bit back. But in the last games of the season he showed assets and today for what is to come next season.”

Asked if Diallo’s best position was on the right wing, where he started at Murrayfield, Ten Hag replied: “I think that is his best position, but I think he is also capable of playing other positions like nine or ten or from the left wing. All the offensive positions he can play.”