Timothy Fosu-Mensah reveals who pulled the trigger on Man Utd exit

Timothy Fosu-Mensah TEAMtalk

Timothy Fosu-Mensah has revealed that it was his decision to quit Manchester United after he joined Bayer Leverkusen during the January transfer window.

The 23-year-old left Old Trafford in a €2m (£1.75m) deal last month. That was despite the fact he had forced his way back into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-team plans.

The Holland international had two spells out on loan and then suffered a knee injury which hampered his selection hopes.

There was talk of a new deal, with his contract running out in the summer. But Fosu-Mensah decided his future was elsewhere and headed to Germany instead.

Speaking about the move, he told a report in the Independent: “Yes, it was my decision.

“It was difficult because I ruptured my ACL after my loan spell at Fulham. I was out for a long time. I came back, Solskjaer gave me the minutes, they triggered the option in my contract.

“Solskjaer’s been good to me but at the end I was not playing a lot and obviously, when you’re 22, 23, 24 you need to be playing.

“I didn’t play much and I wanted to play. I think it was the best decision in the end for me to go somewhere else where I would get more minutes.”

Solskjaer a massive help

Fosu-Mensah also paid tribute to Solskjaer for standing by him during his lengthy absence.

The full-back made a surprise return to United’s starting line-up at the end of last season. It was his first appearance in three years, playing the full game in a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace in July.

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“The club United and the manager Solskjaer have been good to me because I came from a big injury. My recovered was there, they helped me with my recovery, they gave me my minutes.

“I had minutes in the FA Cup semi-final, the Europa League semi-final, so they’ve been good to me.

“I spoke with [Solskjaer] because he had a big injury as a player, so he knew exactly what I felt as a player. The time out, it can be frustrating because the thing you love to do is play football. He knew my situation and we were managing the situation very well.

“When I played against Crystal Palace, 90 minutes after sixteen months [out injured] I think it was, he was very happy for me. I could see it and he told me also, so these were very good moments.

“What I learned from him also is being positive, enjoy the game, believe in yourself and believe in your qualities. He has always been good to me. He knows I have the quality, so I have no bad things to say about him because he has been very good to me.

“I think for me it’s important to play football regularly and to get my opportunity in the national team as well.

“At a club like Bayer Leverkusen, it’s a nice club with tradition, good people and good players. I think it can only be good for me.”