SCOTT McTOMINAY has revealed how he knocked back a loan move as he sought to make the breakthrough at Manchester United.
The Scotland international midfielder was on the brink of leaving Old Trafford at the start of 2019 – and it appeared he was heading for Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers had reportedly been in contact with United on the possibility of bringing the self-confessed Hoops fan to Parkhead on a temporary basis.
The Irishman had added to his squad during the January transfer window and brought in Oliver Burke (West Brom), Timothy Weah (Paris Saint-Germain) and Jeremy Toljan (Borussia Dortmund).
At the time of the transfer links, Rodgers refused to rule out a move and admitted: “He’s a very good young player. When he broke into the team at Manchester United, I think he showed that. He’s a fantastic talent, but there’s nothing more to say.”
Jose Mourinho had been replaced at the English giants by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in an initial interim basis and one of his first acts in the transfer market was to allow Marouane Fellaini to join Chinese side Shandong Luneng.
The Belgian playmaker’s exit opened the door for McTominay to show what he can do and the towering anchorman seized the opportunity and had played 27 first-team games this season before the game went into lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 23-year-old 12 times-capped player, speaking to the Official Manchester United Podcast, said: “About a year-and-a-half ago, there was a time where a loan move might have been a possibility and then somebody leaves or something like that, and then your opportunity comes and you have to take it.
“You hear loads of stories about boys going on loan and different things like that and I always had it in my head that I don’t want that. I want to be showing myself here first and if it doesn’t work here then you go somewhere else.”
McTominay recently agreed a new deal at United that will keep him at the club until 2023 at least.
