Should Manchester United have kept Scott McTominay?
It’s worth noting that there are several factors to consider here so it’s not just as simple as “he’s playing better than he did last year so United should have kept him”.
Firstly, there is a huge difference in the leagues. The Premier League is well known as one of the hardest leagues in the world to play in. The fact that so many stars who are proven in Europe yet fail in the Premier League just goes to show this.
When looking at the performances of English clubs in European tournaments this year against the performances of Italian clubs, there’s a huge difference.
Of the seven English clubs across the Champions League, Europe League and Conference League, four are still in the Semi-Finals, whilst the other three were knocked out by PSG and Real Madrid, two of the best clubs in the world, with PSG being favourite to win the Champions League.
However, when looking at the eight clubs from Italy in the same tournaments, Bologna didn’t make it past the league phase, whilst five have been knocked out by Club Brugge, Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven, Bodo/Glimt and Athletic Club, leaving only two in the Semi-Finals.
This broadly goes to show the calibre of Premier League sides compared to Serie A clubs on a comparable stage, showing the difference in the two leagues.
It’s also a huge factor that with Premier League sides playing in the league, European tournaments, as well as the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, whilst Serie A sides only have the league, European tournaments and the Italy Cup, there is a difference in number of fixtures in the calendar and therefore a need for squad rotation and fatigue setting in.
For Napoli, with them failing to qualify for Europe last season, they’ve only had Serie A and the Italy cup to fight for, being able to apply themselves more fully in less games than United.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE CENTRE DEVILS WHATSAPP GROUP CHAT NOW!
