Roy Keane's Manchester United Warning List Almost Cleared

Roy Keane’s old Manchester United warning list is almost cleared. Three of the four players he once dismissed as not good enough have gone. Only one is still fighting for his future at Old Trafford.

Back in August 2022, Keane’s verdict on Scott McTominay and Fred cut straight through the noise after a 2-1 home defeat to Brighton. Erik ten Hag had paired them at the base of midfield on the opening day of the Premier League season. Keane was having none of 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.”

Two years on, the names on his list changed but the tone did not. In April 2025, under Ruben Amorim, United laboured to a goalless draw with Manchester City. The performance was flat, the attack blunt, and Keane turned his fire on Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee.

“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?”

Three years, two managers and four targets. Now, only Zirkzee remains in Manchester. The rest have tried to prove Keane wrong somewhere else.

McTominay’s Italian rebirth

For McTominay, the escape route led to Naples. After joining United as a five-year-old and climbing all the way through the academy, he finally left in the summer of 2024, heading to Napoli in a £25 million deal.

It has turned into the making of him.

At 29, the midfielder was named Serie A player of the year in his first season in Italy, driving Antonio Conte’s side to the Scudetto. He became the heartbeat of a ruthless, disciplined Napoli team that wrestled the title away from Inter and Milan.

Napoli couldn’t quite repeat the feat the following campaign, finishing second behind Inter, but they still lifted the Supercoppa Italiana. McTominay, once derided as a symbol of United’s drift, is now a champion and an individual award winner in one of Europe’s toughest leagues.

Fred finds stability in Turkey

Fred’s journey has been quieter but no less steady. Signed from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018 for £47m, the Brazilian endured a turbulent spell at Old Trafford, often caught in the crossfire of wider criticism about United’s midfield.

He did have his moments. A League Cup win in 2023 stands out, and he remained a regular under multiple managers. But after Keane’s 2022 blast, his United story wound down.

By August 2023, Fred had moved on to Fenerbahce. In Istanbul, he has found consistency. Across three seasons he has been a fixture in the side, helping the Turkish giants to the Turkish Super Cup in 2025 and offering the kind of reliability that often eluded him in Manchester.

Hojlund: big fee, bigger expectations

Rasmus Hojlund arrived at Old Trafford in July 2023 as the great attacking hope. United paid an initial £64m to prise him from Atalanta, gambling on his potential, his physicality, and his promise as a long-term No 9.

The numbers never quite matched the hype. Across 95 appearances, he scored 26 goals – a respectable return, but not the explosive tally many had anticipated for that price tag and that role. He did at least taste silverware, lifting the FA Cup in 2024.

By September 2025, the club’s patience and the tactical direction under new management pushed him out on loan, back to Serie A with Napoli. The move became permanent this summer for around £38m, a significant loss on United’s initial outlay.

In Italy, he hit 16 goals in his debut season and added another Supercoppa Italiana to his collection. Yet even there, questions linger. His pre-season this summer has been subdued, and he is still trying to nail down his place as Napoli’s undisputed spearhead.

Zirkzee: the last man standing

All of which leaves Zirkzee as the final name from Keane’s hit list still on United’s books – and even that might not be for long.

Signed in 2024 for £36.5m, the Dutch forward has struggled to carve out a convincing role. Nine goals in 75 appearances across all competitions tell the story of a player used often enough, but rarely trusted as the main man.

His situation has only become more complicated. With Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo all earning minutes ahead of him, Zirkzee’s path to regular football looks increasingly blocked.

According to Sky Sport Italia, Juventus are ready to offer him a way out with a season-long loan. The report claims the 25-year-old has already given the move his approval, attracted by the chance to reboot his career in Serie A and escape the logjam in United’s forward line.

If that deal goes through, Keane’s once-controversial assessment will have outlived the players it targeted. Three have already rebuilt their reputations abroad. The fourth may soon be packing his bags, too.

The real question now sits with United: as they clear out the names their former captain doubted, are they finally building a squad he would actually approve of?