Manchester United may be on course for their worst Premier League season – but things couldn’t be going much better for some former stars.
The Red Devils are currently languishing in 14th spot, with Scott McTominay, Anthony Elanga and Antony rubbing salt in their wounds by thriving away from Old Trafford.
Scott McTominay has thrived away from Old Trafford since joining Napoli last summerGettyThe trio are among a number of players to depart the club in recent years who have found the grass greener elsewhere.
While Ruben Amorim‘s side fell to a 15th league defeat against Newcastle over the weekend, McTominay continued his stellar debut season at Napoli by boosting their title hopes with a late winner against Monza.
Antony then added insult to injury as he kept up his resurgence at loan side Real Betis by scoring in a 3-1 win over Girona on Easter Monday.
With this in mind, talkSPORT.com has taken a look at the stars who have been enjoying a far better time since leaving United behind.
Scott McTominay
The 28-year-old has been in red hot form since swapping Manchester for Naples last August.
McTominay could hardly have asked for his £25million move to go better, with ten goals and four assists from midfield in all competitions this term, putting Napoli in the hunt to be Serie A champions.
The Italian giants are currently locked in a thrilling title race with Inter Milan, who are separated only by goal difference at the top of the table as the season reaches a dramatic conclusion.
After finishing 10th last term, McTominay has been a key part of Gli Azzurri’s resurgence, starting all but two matches in the league.
Not only that, but in 28 out of 33 of these games he has played a full 90 minutes.
This is a far cry from his time at United, where he struggled to nail down a regular starting berth, despite being an important squad player.
GettyMcTominay made 255 appearances in seven years at United, scoring 29 times[/caption]His match-winning heroics over the weekend saw the Scotland star match his highest ever goalscoring tally in a campaign, having brought up the same number at Old Trafford last season.
But with five games of his debut campaign still remaining, there is every chance McTominay will surpass this figure, and he is sure to go down in folklore should he inspire the club to a fourth league title.
The midfielder’s exploits have already established himself as a fan favourite, with talkSPORT’s European football journalist Andy Brassell likening his relationship with the club’s passionate supporters to that of the legendary Diego Maradona.
Antony
Perhaps the best example of a player’s fortunes transforming since leaving United has been Antony’s move to Real Betis.
Labelled a flop after managing just 17 goal contributions in 96 games following his £86m transfer from Ajax in 2022, the Brazilian has been loving life in Spain in the last few months.
Since joining on loan in January, the 24-year-old has dramatically improved with the LaLiga outfit, where he boasts nine goal contributions in 17 appearances in all competitions.
It remains to be seen where Antony will be playing next seasonGettyAntony’s recent form represents a huge turnaround from his woes at the Theatre of Dreams, with it taking him just four games at Betis to equal his entire goal tally for last season with the Red Devils (three).
His recent heroics have helped his loan club to within touching distance of a Champions League spot.
Manuel Pellegrini‘s side are just a point off fifth place Villareal in LaLiga – the cut-off point for qualification for the competition.
Meanwhile, they are also into the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League, with Antony notching two goals and as many assists en route to the final four.
Speaking in February, the winger admitted he had rediscovered his love of the game in southern Spain.
He told AS: “The most important thing is that I have found myself again. I am happy to be enjoying myself every day. Things go well when we are happy, content.”
Antony has become a firm fan favourite since joining Betis on loan in JanuaryDavid de Gea
A member of United’s last Premier League title-winning team in 2013, De Gea‘s time with the English giants came to an abrupt end when he was brutally axed by Erik ten Hag in 2023.
After spending the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign as a free agent, the Spanish goalkeeper has made an impressive return to football this term with Serie A side Fiorentina.
In his 29 league games with the Italian outfit, De Gea has kept 11 clean sheets, keeping his side in the hunt for European qualification.
This places him joint-third in the league’s best performing shot-stoppers in this respect, with the two top performers – Napoli’s Alex Meret and Roma’s Mile Svilar – recording just two more with 13.
The Florence outfit are currently ninth in the league table, four points adrift of Roma in sixth, the last Europa Conference League qualification spot.
De Gea also has one eye on European glory, with Fiorentina into the semi-finals of the Conference League, where they will face Real Betis.
De Gea has started in Fiorentina’s last 29 Serie A matchesHis impressive stint in Italy has only reminded United fans what they are missing, with his replacement number one in Andre Onana struggling to fill the Spaniard’s boots.
This season, the Cameroon international has conceded 13 more league goals than De Gea in just three more games having endured a United career which has been so far littered with errors.
Anthony Elanga
Few would have predicted Elanga would play a starring role in one of the Premier League’s biggest surprise stories in recent years when he joined Nottingham Forest from United in 2023.
Despite showing glimpses of potential after breaking into United’s first team in the 2021/22 campaign, the Swede never quite managed to cement himself as a regular starter whilst at the club.
But since his move to the City Ground, Elanga has been a mainstay in a Forest side that are battling for Champions League qualification.
After scoring five goals in 36 league games to help the Reds survive relegation in the 2023/24 campaign, the 22-year-old has bettered his output this term with six goals to fire his side into third place in the Premier League table.
No Forest player boasts more Premier League assists than Elanga’s nineHe has proved even more effective at creating chances for his teammates, providing a further nine assists this term.
This places Elanga joint-fourth in the league assists charts this season, the same as his total for the entirety of last season.
And the forward gave his former employers the ultimate reminder of what they missed out on earlier this month when he netted a superb individual goal to give Forest a 1-0 victory over United.
Anthony Martial
It came as a shock to many when Martial agreed to join Greek side AEK Athens after departing Old Trafford in May 2024.
The Frenchman made a name for himself as one of the most promising youngsters in world football after joining United from Monaco for £36m in 2015, then a world record fee for a teenager.
But after winning the FA Cup, Europa League and EFL Cup in his first two years in England, Martial’s impact gradually dwindled as injuries caused him to miss a total of 108 games in nine years at the club.
Anthony Martial finished this season as AEK Athens’ top goalscorerGettyNow however, Martial looks to be back top form in Greece, netting nine goals in 22 games in all competitions for AEK this term.
This included seven league goals, with the 29-year-old’s efforts helping to fire the Double-Headed Eagles to a second-place finish in the Greek Super League.
With his side now participating in the league Championship play-offs, Martial has a chance to secure Champions League football next season, something United can only achieve should they win the Europa League.
AEK can seal a spot among Europe’s elite by claiming the last qualification spot behind confirmed champions Olympiacos in their season-ending mini league.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Record siging, Scott McTominay and Premier League star among the ex-Manchester United players now thriving after leaving )
Also on site :