“His performance clearly shows that he’s not a right fit for our beloved club. He should be shelved immediately” – This is according to Manchester United legend Roy Keane as claims that Manchester United should consider ‘shelving’ their 5/10 rated player who had fewer touches than Onana after the Brighton match.

Manchester United have finally wrapped up their Premier League campaign, bringing an exhausting season to an end. It has been a tough ride for Erik ten Hag, who has battled through one setback after another but still couldn’t steer the team to the finish they hoped for.

There’s still a chance to end the year on a brighter note if they can upset Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley next weekend. Until then, all they can do is sit with the reality of their league position. United finished eighth with 60 points—well short of the top four and miles behind City, who are 31 points ahead.

So what comes next? Some believe Ten Hag should be replaced, though it might be wiser to wait and see what INEOS can reshape over the summer. United have spent heavily in past windows, so no one should expect a single summer to fix everything, but new leadership could spark real changes.

Before any rebuilding begins, Wembley awaits. And in that match, one player who should not make the starting XI is Scott McTominay.

The midfielder’s season has been as up-and-down as United’s. Last summer, it looked like he was heading to West Ham, but he stayed and ended up having a respectable campaign overall. Ten goals in 42 games is solid, especially for someone whose career total stood at 29 senior goals at age 27.

But the inconsistency is hard to ignore. There have been matches where he simply hasn’t influenced the game at all, and the win over Brighton on Sunday was another example. Despite United taking all three points, McTominay struggled badly, prompting club media figure Mark Goldbridge to claim he “offered nothing” in midfield.

Maybe that sounds harsh on a player with decent numbers this season, but his recent displays haven’t backed him up. He squandered a big first-half chance—one of United’s best of the match—after Bruno Fernandes put him through. Instead of controlling it cleanly, he let the ball get away from him and fired his shot wildly over the bar.

It summed up his afternoon. Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst rated him 5 out of 10, calling the missed chance wasteful, and the stats underline the problem. McTominay finished with just 36 touches—astonishingly, 17 fewer than goalkeeper André Onana. For a midfielder who played the full 90 minutes, that’s a glaring lack of involvement.

He didn’t create a single key pass, didn’t attempt a dribble, made no interceptions, and produced only one tackle. His 88% pass accuracy looks fine on paper but doesn’t change the fact that he barely affected the match.

With the FA Cup final just days away, Ten Hag has big decisions to make. Rasmus Højlund made an instant impact off the bench and may have earned a starting spot. Marcus Rashford, despite his struggles, will also be difficult to leave out in a match of such magnitude. There could even be thoughts of pushing Casemiro forward again.

One thing is clear: McTominay shouldn’t feel secure. Based on his Brighton display, he hasn’t done enough to justify starting at Wembley.