Man Utd star ‘said no’ to Prem rivals on deadline day; had ‘crucial’ role in ‘incredible’ failed transfer

Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay reportedly “said no” to Fulham on deadline day as Marco Silva’s side attempted to replace Joao Pahlinha.

McTominay was heavily linked with a move away from Old Trafford throughout the summer transfer window, with West Ham and Bayern Munich mentioned as potential destinations.

The Scotland international was considered by Bayern Munich as they were in the market for a new centre-midfielder.

Thomas Tuchel’s side ended up pursuing Fulham’s Joao Pahlinha and it looked at one stage like this transfer would be finalised before Friday’s deadline.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Pahlinha “completed two parts of his medical tests and documents were ready” but the transfer fell through because Fulham “didn’t find a player” to replace him.

“It was an incredible Friday at Bayern Munich, especially with the remarkable details of the Joao Palhinha deal collapsing,” Romano told Caught Offside.

“We witnessed some crazy scenes in Munich, in the headquarters of Bayern, and with the player, who was shocked by the situation. Palhinha was convinced he was joining Bayern, he had completed two parts of his medical tests, all the documents were ready, his contract was ready, and he did media duties in a Bayern shirt.

“Everything was done for Palhinha to join Bayern, but Fulham needed a transfer to come in as a replacement. They needed to get this done by 6pm because the transfer window was closing in Germany at that time, but what happened is that Fulham didn’t find a player by that time.”

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Romano has also confirmed that McTominay rejected a move to Fulham after the Premier League side “spoke to the midfielder”.

“They tried, though, for a few different players, including Youssouf Fofana and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. However, they couldn’t reach an agreement,” Romano added.

“Then the crucial part of this story – Scott McTominay. From what I’m told, Fulham also spoke to the Manchester United midfielder, but he said no to Fulham. So what happened is that the Palhinha deal collapsed because Fulham couldn’t find a replacement.

“Palhinha was shocked, and Thomas Tuchel was not happy at all with the situation – he had been insisting to have the defensive midfielder for a long time, even though Bayern only pushed for the move on Deadline Day.

“So for Tuchel, it was a big problem to manage this story, with the player really sad and disappointed. He then had to return to London after a message from Fulham, so this was something really incredible and let’s see what it means for Palhinha’s future at Fulham.”

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