Manchester United Have Enough Depth To Replace Scott McTominay

Scott McTominay has been one of Manchester United’s best players this season. The Scottish central midfielder has displayed a great deal of consistency, and he has been a top playmaking threat on a central role for The Red Devils. However, the Old Trafford outfit could be without him for a considerable amount of time.

McTominay suffered a knee injury during the Boxing Day against Newcastle United, and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said the Scotsman suffered “knee ligament damage”, although he didn’t offer a timetable for his recovery. McTominay left the game against The Magpies during the first half and wasn’t part of the squad during Saturday’s tilt at Burnley.

The only thing Solskjaer said was that they haven’t done a full scan on the midfielder yet.

“We have looked at him, but we haven’t done the full scan yet,” Solskjaer told MUTV. “Over the weekend we will know more. It didn’t look good, but we hope he will heal quickly.” That doesn’t sound promising.

What are Manchester United’s options to replace Scott McTominay?

Either way, United have enough depth to deal with the absence of McTominay. Fred has gained a starting role for The Red Devils over the last few weeks. Thus, he shouldn’t leave the side any time soon. Paul Pogba didn’t play against Burnley, but it was only because Solskjaer wanted to rest the Frenchman. His explanation? Pogba “has been out for a while”.

“Paul has played in two games now and he’s been out for a while, so we didn’t feel it was right for him to participate today,” Solskjaer said.

Considering Pogba and Fred are expected starters, United could also turn to Matic for midfield depth. Even Andreas Pereira could operate on a deeper role, allowing Jesse Lingard to feature as an attacking midfielder. Even Axel Tuanzebe can play as a central midfielder. However, that wouldn’t be a wise strategy unless there weren’t other options available.

There’s no question missing McTominay will be huge for United. But the Old Trafford fans shouldn’t worry too much due to the (likely) long-term absence of the Scotsman. The team has enough depth to overcome his absence, and they shouldn’t miss him more than what they missed Pogba over the two-plus months he was sidelined.