Roy Keane’s ‘Not Good Enough’ List: Three Players Depart Manchester United

Roy Keane drew a hard line. Four Manchester United players, he said, simply were not of the standard required to drag the club back to the top. Two midfielders, two strikers. Years on, Old Trafford has largely followed his verdict.

Scott McTominay, Fred and Rasmus Hojlund have all moved on. Joshua Zirkzee is the last man standing – and even he is edging towards the exit.

Keane’s ruthless assessment

The starting point was August 2022, a grim 2-1 home defeat to Brighton that set the tone for Erik ten Hag’s early months in charge. McTominay and Fred were handed the keys to United’s midfield. Keane was scathing.

“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.”

Fast forward to April 2025. A goalless, lifeless draw with Manchester City under Ruben Amorim left Keane unmoved again. This time, his focus shifted to the forwards.

“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?”

The message was clear. In Keane’s eyes, the spine wasn’t strong enough. United’s response over the next few windows has been brutal.

McTominay: From academy boy to Serie A star

McTominay, a United player from the age of five, looked destined to be a squad man forever at Old Trafford. Instead, he has reinvented himself in Italy.

Napoli paid £25 million for him in the summer of 2024. It has turned into a bargain. In his first season under Antonio Conte, the Scot drove Napoli to the Serie A title and was named Serie A Player of the Year.

He became the heartbeat of a snarling, disciplined side that outlasted everyone in the run-in. Last season, Napoli couldn’t quite defend their crown, finishing second behind Inter Milan, but they still lifted the Supercoppa Italiana. McTominay has gone from Keane’s firing line to one of the most influential midfielders in Italy.

Fred: A steady force in Turkey

Fred’s United story never fully matched his £47m fee from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018, but it wasn’t without reward. He played a major role in the 2022-23 campaign and helped the club win the League Cup in 2023.

A year after Keane’s stinging Brighton assessment, the Brazilian made his move. Fenerbahce picked him up in August 2023, and he quickly settled into life in Istanbul.

Now 33, Fred has been a constant presence across three seasons for the Turkish giants, helping them to the Turkish Super Cup in 2025. He may never have become the dominant midfielder United once hoped for, but he has carved out a successful, stable chapter away from Old Trafford.

Hojlund: Big fee, brief impact, new start

Rasmus Hojlund’s time at United always carried the weight of expectation. Signed from Atalanta in July 2023 for an initial £64m, he arrived as the club’s great centre-forward hope.

The numbers were respectable but not transformative: 26 goals in 95 appearances in all competitions, an FA Cup winner in 2024, flashes of menace, long spells of frustration. United needed a ruthless, consistent finisher. Hojlund never quite became that.

By September 2025, the club was ready to reset. Napoli took him on loan, then made the move permanent this summer for around £38m. His debut season in Italy brought 16 goals and a Supercoppa Italiana, a reminder of his potential in a system that plays to his strengths.

This pre-season, though, he has struggled to impose himself again. The talent is obvious. The question, as it was at United, is whether he can turn promise into dominance.

Zirkzee: The last name on Keane’s list

That leaves Joshua Zirkzee, the final member of Keane’s “not good enough” quartet still on United’s books – at least for now.

Signed for £36.5m in 2024, the Dutch forward has never truly nailed down a starting role. Nine goals in 75 appearances tell the story of a player stuck between roles: not quite the main man, not quite the super-sub, always the one shuffled down the pecking order.

Competition has intensified. Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have all been preferred in the forward positions, eating into Zirkzee’s minutes and confidence.

According to Sky Sport Italia, Juventus are ready to offer him a way out with a season-long loan. The 25-year-old has reportedly given the move his approval, sensing a clearer path to regular football in Serie A.

If that deal goes through, Keane’s list will be complete. Three have already rebuilt their careers abroad, one is poised to follow. United, in their own ruthless way, have acted on the bluntest of pundit verdicts.

The bigger question now is simple: after clearing out the players Roy Keane called “not good enough”, have Manchester United finally built a team that is?