Roy Keane’s ‘not good enough’ players: Three gone, one remaining
Roy Keane called it early. Now Manchester United’s squad list proves it.
Three of the four players the former United captain once dismissed as “not good enough” have already left Old Trafford. The last man standing, Joshua Zirkzee, is edging towards the exit as well.
Back in August 2022, Keane tore into Scott McTominay and Fred after a 2-1 home defeat to Brighton, a game that underlined how far United had drifted from their old standards. Tasked with holding midfield under Erik ten Hag, the pair were overrun. Keane did not sugar-coat it.
“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 told Sky Sports. “They won't get Manchester United back competing at the top. We see it week in, week out. [They are] not up to it.”
At the time it felt brutal. With hindsight, it looks like a preview.
McTominay’s Italian revival
McTominay, a United player from the age of five, walked away in the summer of 2024. A £25 million move to Napoli could have been a step down in profile. It turned into a career reset.
In his first season in Serie A, the Scot exploded. He drove Antonio Conte’s side to the title and walked off with the Serie A player of the year award. From a lightning rod in Manchester to a linchpin in Naples, he became the heartbeat of a team that wrestled the Scudetto away from Inter and Milan.
Napoli could not repeat the feat last season, finishing second behind Inter Milan, but they did add the Supercoppa Italiana to the trophy cabinet. McTominay has gone from Keane’s firing line to one of Italy’s most influential midfielders.
Fred finds stability in Turkey
Fred’s story took a different route but ended in the same place: away from Old Trafford, away from the debate.
Signed from Shakhtar Donetsk for £47 million in 2018, the Brazilian’s United career always felt like a tug of war between effort and expectation. He did win the League Cup in 2023 and remained a regular right up until his move.
A year after Keane’s on-air demolition, Fred left for Fenerbahce in August 2023. In Turkey, he has found something United never truly offered him – continuity. Across three seasons he has been a constant presence for the Istanbul giants and collected the Turkish Super Cup in 2025.
He may never have matched his transfer fee in England, but he has carved out a solid, decorated chapter in a league that suits him.
Hojlund: From big fee to fresh start
Rasmus Hojlund arrived at Old Trafford in July 2023 as the great attacking hope. United paid an initial £64 million to prise him from Atalanta, a fee that came with the weight of expectation and the glare of scrutiny.
He never quite escaped either.
Across 95 appearances in all competitions, the Dane scored 26 goals. There were flashes – important strikes, surges of form, and an FA Cup win in 2024 – but the overall return never matched the outlay. The sense lingered that he was still learning on the job in a team that needed a finished product.
By September 2025, United cut the cord. Hojlund joined Napoli on loan, then made the switch permanent this summer for around £38 million. In his first season back in Italy he rediscovered some rhythm, hitting 16 goals and lifting the Supercoppa Italiana.
This pre-season, though, has been tougher. The goals have dried up, the sharpness not quite there. For a 23-year-old, the story is far from written, but his Old Trafford chapter already feels like a missed opportunity.
Zirkzee: The last name on Keane’s list
Fast forward to April 2025. Different manager, same verdict.
Under Ruben Amorim, United ground out a goalless draw with Manchester City. The performance was flat, the attack blunt. Keane turned his attention to the forwards – and this time the names were Zirkzee and Hojlund.
“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?”
Hojlund has since gone. Zirkzee is now the only member of that quartet still on United’s books.
For how much longer is another matter.
Signed for £36.5 million in 2024, the Dutch forward has never truly nailed down a starting place. Nine goals in 75 appearances across all competitions tell their own story. He featured in pre-season, but with the transfer window closing on September 1, his future hangs in the balance.
According to Sky Sport Italia, Juventus want him on a season-long loan. The report claims Zirkzee has already given the move the green light. He can see the writing on the wall at Old Trafford: Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo are all ahead of him in the pecking order, eating up the minutes he craves.
United once again look ready to move on from a striker who never quite convinced. Keane’s words, thrown out in frustration, now echo through the club’s transfer business.
Three of his “not good enough” four have already rebuilt their careers elsewhere. Zirkzee looks set to try to do the same in Turin.
The real question is whether United have finally learned how to stop buying players Keane would tear into in the first place.
