Angel Gomes left Manchester United in the summer of 2020 and five years later, the 24-year-old was strongly wanted by Tottenham – and Manchester United. At Lille, the attacking midfielder has had a rapid development, the seasons in Ligue 1 have given him a ticket to the English national team. So what happened at United, where the highly talented academy player stopped at 10 senior games for the Premier League giant? This month, Gomes signed for Marseille on a free transfer, now he talks about what makes former United players big after leaving Old Trafford. Like Scott Mctominay.
“There are some who do (thrive better after they have left United). Some players may have felt intimidated by the ‘weight of wearing the United shirt’, or perhaps they haven’t fully understood what it takes to be at United,” Gomes told the BBC.
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He himself succeeded in leaving the club, but he does not believe that the pressure at United is the only explanation for why several players flourish as soon as they leave the Red Devils.
“Sometimes it’s also about the environment, the timing and having the right framework to help you, and some players who have left the club performing better than they did at United may have found something in their new place – at the right time – that helped them succeed. It’s not always so black and white that they failed or that they couldn’t handle the pressure because of the “weight of the suit,” Gomes says.
For us, Scott McTominay is the best example of the latter. The Scottish iron man didn’t seem afraid of anything when he laced up his combat boots, had a genuine pride in wearing the shirt, but first got to use his strengths at Antonio Conte and Napoli. In his debut season, McTominay was given a more attacking and freer role than at United. The result was the Serie A Player of the Year award, where McTominay’s big game and 12 Serie A goals contributed greatly to Napoli’s league title.
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