Garth Crooks has heaped praise onto the much-improved Scott McTominay after admitting he initially questioned whether he was really worthy of playing regularly for Manchester United.
The young Scotland international first broke into the first-team under Jose Mourinho, but has become even more of a regular figure in United’s midfield since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over as manager.
MORE: Marcus Rashford says how the Manchester United forwards can improve
Many fans will have questioned Solskjaer’s thinking as McTominay has rarely looked like he could be anything more than a Darren Fletcher-esque squad player.
However, unlike Fletcher, he finds himself in an era where the competition for places at Old Trafford is not that fierce and that’s seen the 22-year-old start a lot of important matches.
Still, he’s starting to show what he can do and Crooks has quickly become very impressed with him after his performances against Liverpool and Norwich.
McTominay’s display at Carrow Road on Sunday, which included a well-taken opening goal, earned him a place in Crook’s Premier League team of the week, with the pundit admitting to BBC Sport that he might’ve been wrong about him.
He said: “I’ve watched this lad a lot in recent weeks and couldn’t work out why Solskjaer keeps playing him.
“He runs about a lot and is certainly not afraid to put his foot in – but a Manchester United player?
“Against Liverpool he was excellent and after his performance against Norwich he finds himself in my TOTW.
“He’s also bright enough not to get involved in taking penalties for Manchester United. I think I might have misjudged him.”