Roy Keane’s Verdict on Manchester United Players: A Journey of Redemption
Roy Keane’s old hit-list is almost cleared at Manchester United – and the stories of the four players he branded “not good enough” have taken very different turns.
Only Joshua Zirkzee is still at Old Trafford. The rest have gone – and at least one of them has proved Keane spectacularly wrong.
Keane’s brutal verdict
Back in August 2022, after a dismal 2-1 home defeat to Brighton, Keane zeroed in on Manchester United’s midfield. Erik ten Hag had paired Fred and Scott McTominay at the base of his side. Keane, watching on for Sky Sports, tore into them.
“The decision-making and the football intelligence, in particular from Fred – and I've said this for a long time – Fred and McTominay are not good enough,” he said. “They won't get Manchester United back competing at the top. We see it week in, week out. [They are] not up to it.”
Fast forward to April 2025. Different manager, different team shape, same Keane. Under Ruben Amorim, United ground out a goalless draw with Manchester City. The performance up front infuriated him.
“Manchester United can still be more of a goal threat,” he said on Sky Sports. “The couple of strikers United have at the club are not good enough for United, but there are other players on the team.
“I’m not saying they all have to be like that – but they have experienced players there. Maguire, Casemiro, Fernandes – do they get a grip of these players?”
This time the targets were Rasmus Hojlund and Zirkzee. Four names, one uncompromising verdict.
Now, only one remains in Manchester.
McTominay: from scapegoat to Serie A star
Scott McTominay walked away from his boyhood club in the summer of 2024. After joining United at the age of five, he left for Napoli in a £25 million deal with more questions than admirers.
Italy has changed that.
In his first season under Antonio Conte, the 29-year-old drove Napoli to the Serie A title and collected the league’s player of the year award. Not just a solid signing – the standout performer in the division.
Napoli couldn’t quite defend their crown last season, finishing second behind Inter Milan, but McTominay still ended the year with silverware as they lifted the Supercoppa Italiana.
The midfielder Keane once dismissed as “not good enough” is now a champion and an individual award winner in one of Europe’s toughest leagues.
Fred: steady success in Turkey
Fred’s United career always divided opinion. Signed from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018 for £47m, he never fully justified the fee but did play a significant role in the side that won the League Cup in 2023.
He stayed a regular under a series of managers, even after Keane’s 2022 blast, before finally moving on in August 2023. Fenerbahce picked him up, and he has barely looked back.
In Istanbul, the Brazil international has been a constant presence across three seasons and added the Turkish Super Cup in 2025 to his collection. No dramatic reinvention, no headline-grabbing redemption arc – just a reliable midfielder thriving away from the Old Trafford spotlight.
Hojlund: big fee, mixed spell, fresh start
Rasmus Hojlund arrived at United in July 2023 as a £64m signing from Atalanta, billed as the long-term answer up front. He leaves with a more complicated story.
The Dane managed 26 goals in 95 appearances in all competitions. Not a disaster, not a roaring success. He did have his moments, including playing his part in the FA Cup triumph of 2024, but he never quite became the ruthless No 9 United hoped they had bought.
By September 2025, the club was ready to move in a different direction. Hojlund joined Napoli on loan, then made the switch permanent this summer for around £38m.
His first season in Italy brought 16 goals and another Supercoppa Italiana win, a decent return that suggested he had found a better fit. This pre-season, though, he has struggled to impose himself, with questions resurfacing about whether he can truly lead the line at the highest level.
Zirkzee: last man standing, future in doubt
That leaves Joshua Zirkzee, the final name on Keane’s list and the only one still on United’s books.
The Dutch striker arrived in 2024 for £36.5m but has never nailed down a starting place. Nine goals in 75 appearances tell the story: flashes, cameos, but no sustained run as the main man.
He was involved in pre-season, yet his position looks increasingly precarious. Competition in the forward line is fierce, with Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo all ahead of him in the pecking order and taking the bulk of the minutes.
According to Sky Sport Italia, Juventus want to take Zirkzee on a season-long loan. The report claims the 25-year-old has already given the move the green light, tempted by the chance of regular football at another Serie A heavyweight.
If that deal goes through, Keane’s “not good enough” quartet will all have left Old Trafford.
The question now is not whether the pundit was right, but whether United have finally found players he won’t be lining up in his sights next.
