Siddharth Juyal
Newcastle eye Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay as a potential replacement for Sandro Tonali
Newcastle have added Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay to their shortlist in case Sandro Tonali faces a lengthy ban. The Italian midfielder admitted to betting on Serie A side AC Milan’s matches during his time at the Italian club.
The Magpies have Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips and Chelsea loanee Andrey Santos on their shortlist as well. Many other clubs showed interest in McTominay and linked him with West Ham United and Fulham during the summer transfer window.
The arrival of Mason Mount and Sofyan Amrabat limited the 26-year-old’s game time. United manager Erik ten Hag faced more selection headaches as Hannibal Mejbri rose threw the ranks with good performances.
TEAMtalk (h/t Manchester Evening News) has shortlisted McTominay as one of the midfielders to replace Tonali.
Newcastle signed Tonali for £55 million ($66.8m) from Milan during the summer transfer window. ESPN reported that Tonali faces a lengthy ban after admitting that he bet on Milan’s game while playing there.
Tonali’s agent, Giuseppe Riso, said that the player is battling a gambling addiction and that he feels “shocked, shaken, and sad.”
McTominay has appeared in six matches so far in all competitions and contributed with two goals for the Red Devils. The 26-year-old has only started two of those games while being an unused substitute in three games. Ten Hag did not include the Scotsman in the matchday squad for two games this season.
The Scottish international played a heroic cameo in the last game before the October international break against Brentford. McTominay came on as a substitute during the 87th minute as United faced their third consecutive defeat at Old Trafford. The 26-year-old scored two goals in the extra time to give the Red Devils, a much-needed victory.
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United have lost six out of their 11 matches in all competitions this season. The United boss would hope that the heroic cameo from the Scotsman can spur his teammate to contribute more. Fichajes reported that United were willing to cash in on McTominay during the January transfer window.
However, we think that the Scotsman deserves more chance to prove his worth, especially after his memorable cameo. McTominay has the United DNA of never giving up and the Red Devils need that now more than ever.
