Erik ten Hag drops major Manchester United transfer hint vs Brighton

Erik ten Hag turned to Scott McTominay on the Manchester United substitutes bench for the second straight match late on against Brighton and Hove Albion.

McTominay, 27, replaced Bruno Fernandes, whose withdrawal was roundly booed by the travelling support, with just over ten minutes of regulation time remaining. It came as part of a double substitution, with Harry Maguire also making way for Matthijs de Ligt.

The midfielder also came on when the scores were level last week, replacing Kobbie Mainoo three minutes before Joshua Zirkzee broke the deadlock against Fulham at Old Trafford. But, this time, United lost it late, with Brighton's Joao Pedro heading home in the fifth minute of added time.

READ MORE: Ten Hag explains Jadon Sancho omission from United squad vs Brighton

READ MORE: Why Alejandro Garnacho's strike was ruled out by VAR vs Brighton

McTominay perhaps surprisingly played hours after reports emerged that United had received a £21.2million (€25m) offer from Napoli to sign the midfielder. Fabrizio Romano claims the Reds turned the bid down because they want over £25.4m (€30m).

Earlier this summer, Fulham made three bids to sign the midfielder, the most recent being worth £23million. However, they have since signed Sander Berge from Burnley for a similar fee.

Jose Mourinho's Fenerbache were also previously keen on signing McTominay but were unwilling to meet United's valuation. MEN Sport reported that United were open to bids between £25m and £30m. That is despite rejecting a bid as high as the latter last summer from West Ham United when they valued the player at £40m.

Ten Hag has expressed a willingness to keep McTominay and has proved that this season by turning to him when needing a goal instead of