Darren Bent drops £40m Everton claim about Manchester United ace Scott McTominay
Darren Bent believes Scott McTominay would find it difficult getting in the Everton starting line-up, despite valuing the Manchester United midfielder in the region of £40million.
McTominay was linked with a move to Goodison Park in the summer [The Athletic, 8 June], as well as Newcastle United and West Ham, but he instead stayed put at Old Trafford.
Everton may consider reviving their interest in the Scotland international next year, but Bent does not believe it is a certainty he would get in Sean Dyche’s strongest XI.
Speaking on talkSPORT Drive [13 October, 16:15], Bent said: “Everton is one where I look at Amadou Onana, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Idrissa Gueye, James Garner – does he get in there? He probably would, but it’s not a given.”
Asked how much he expects McTominay to leave for if he does eventually depart United, Bent said: “40 million”.
Options
Dyche stumbled upon a winning formula in the 3-0 win over Bournemouth prior to the international break, as Onana performed superbly after Gueye sustained an injury in the warm-up and pulled out of the side.
Garner, who ironically was also deemed not good enough for United, has been arguably the Toffees’ best performer this term and is now a nailed-on starter, while Doucoure has been Everton’s best source of goals under Dyche.
That is four good-quality central-midfield options available to Dyche, even if they have not always clicked.
It is important not to let the dominant display against Bournemouth cloud our judgement, though. After all, Everton are down in 16th place in the Premier League for a reason.
McTominay produced an almighty rescue act by scoring two goals as a late substitute in United’s 2-1 win over Brentford last week, although it remains to be seen if he has yet to win over manager Erik ten Hag.
That McTominay, and the one who seems to play like Diego Maradona for Scotland, would get into Everton’s central midfield.
But for now, there are other areas on the field that are more in need of strengthening over the next couple of transfer windows.
In other Everton news, a player has been praised by his international manager for leaving Goodison Park when he did.