Amid talk of a sensational return to Old Trafford for Scott McTominay, Gary Lineker has handed Manchester United an excuse they don’t deserve for selling him in the first place.

McTominay has been deified in Naples after being named Serie A Player of the Year in his debut season under Antonio Conte, starring from midfield as Napoli claimed the Scudetto.

Recent reportsclaiming United are interested in bringing the 28-year-old back to the club have ramped up on the back of his extraordinary overhead kick to help Scotland beat Denmark and secure their place at the World Cup.

FIFA’s showcase competition is inarguably the stage for a man whose stratospheric rise since Napoli paid just ￡25.4m to secure his signing from United in August 2024 saw him finish 18th in the Ballon d’Or just over a year later.

READ MORE: McTominay finishes 18th in Ballon d’Or to expose Ferdinand’s Man Utd claim over 13th and 27th best

To suggest he would even have been in the minds of the voting journalists in his time at United would have been laughable, and the decision-makers at Old Trafford in no way merit the sympathy being afforded to them by Lineker on The Rest Is Football.

“What a spell he’s having in his career. You know, he goes from Manchester United, probably his club that he played for since a boy.

“And then he was probably, I mean, surely they must have seen the talent that he had?

“But I suspect he was sold because of the PSR rules and you get, you know, a bigger advantage because he’s a homegrown lad, which strikes me as absolutely wrong.”

Former United boss Erik ten Hag did indeed blame the perverse PSR rules when asked why McTominay was sold.

“Selling a graduate is considered 100 per cent profit under current PSR rules and United sorely needed the cash. Unfortunately, it’s the rules. You have to discuss the rules to do sales and obviously homegrown players, academy players, bring more value.

“It’s not the right thing to do but for everyone, for all parts, it’s a good deal. For Scott, he is happy with it. Of course, for Napoli, a very good player but also for us.”

MORE MANCHESTER UNITED COVERAGE ON F365
???Full Manchester United XI ‘banned’ as Liverpool transfer critics are silenced
?? Prem clubs ranked on AFCON impact: Arsenal advantage, Sunderland screwed
???Former Prem star’s huge wages put Man Utd off as midfielder now has two options

We accept that United probably wouldn’t have sold McTominay for ￡25.4m if those rules didn’t exist. What we take issue with is Lineker’s claim that United in any way “saw the talent he had”.

He was a squad player; no more than a guy who was ‘good to have around’. He started just 18 Premier League games in his final season and in the two campaigns in which he was the first-choice option he was one half of McFred having been inextricably paired with another player deemed not good enough to be starting regularly for the club.

Conte realised his talent immediately. Having operated as a defensive midfielder in a double pivot in over half of his appearances for his boyhood club, at Napoli he’s played as a No.8, No.10 and even on the wing to ensure he can make the difference in the final third, where he’s evidently at his best.

Pure profit or not, selling McTominay for just ￡25.4m is evidence enough of what United thought of a player who’s now easily worth twice that much.