Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United applaud the fans after the team's victory during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Old Trafford on May 15, 2024 in Manchester, England.placeholder image
Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United applaud the fans after the team's victory during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Old Trafford on May 15, 2024 in Manchester, England. | Getty Images
Manchester United could have two players within their squad ready to step up next season
Manchester United’s Ruben Amorim project is well underway, with the Portuguese manager given the reigns to bring in the players he wants to fit his system and his Old Trafford vision.
New signings are the order of the day this summer, though equally important is what to do with the players already at the club. Rarely has a Premier League club had such an array of outcasts all looking to leave permanently at the same time, in the shape of Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Antony and Jadon Sancho.
It will be a tough ask to find suitors for all of the above and potentially others, such as Rasmus Hojlund, but a successful summer of outgoings would represent a step to righting several years of financial wrongs, and would leave the Red Devils in a far stronger position to build a squad capable of all pulling in the same direction to challenge at the top end of the table once again.
If this is to happen, those who remain at Old Trafford must step up and show just why they were trusted to stick around. One player who was often a shining light in a miserable campaign was Amad Diallo, and the Ivorian will look to further his United career again next year. Hoping to do the same will be Kobbie Mainoo, who enjoyed a breakout season in 2023/24 but spent much of last campaign on the sidelines with injury and form issues under Amorim.
Wes Brown speaks on Amad and Mainoo
Former United star Wes Brown, a staple of the Sir Alex Ferguson era in 19 years at the club, told Manchester World: “I expect Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo to be two of United’s strongest players next season, and I hope they can stay fit all season.
“I think Kobbie would have been disappointed with how last season went for him, but this year will be different as he will get a full pre-season to get himself ready for a long season. I don’t think playing so much at the Euros helped his season last year, but how much he played for England shows how talented he is. He is calm and confident on the ball, and United need more of that to control games.
“If Diallo had stayed fit all season, he would have been my player of the year last season. He plays without fear, and he is really versatile, so he can play wherever the manager needs him. His greatest strength seems to be scoring goals.
“He scored plenty last season, and that’s what this team needs. United needs players who are confident in front of goal and can convert the chances that the team creates.”
Amad’s positional concern and Mainoo’s contract worry
But it may not all be plain sailing for two of United’s brightest young prospects, as both may have issues to resolve before their Old Trafford futures can truly begin.
Diallo may find himself with a battle on his hands to nail down a first-team spot should Bryan Mbeumo sign from Brentford. Amorim’s system dictates that two attacking players play in dual number 10 positions behind the striker and Mbeumo would likely take the spot on the right, with Matheus Cunha set to operate from the left. This would leave Amad needing to fill in at wing-back or else settling for a place on the substitutes’ bench, neither of which is likely to be a popular solution with the 22-year-old.
Meanwhile in the case of Mainoo, the 20-year-old’s camp have been in discussions with the club for some time now regarding a new contract for the United academy graduate. The England international last penned a new deal with his boyhood club aged 17 - before he had even broken into the first team - and his representatives reportedly want a pay rise to £180,000-a-week for Mainoo, to better reflect his status within the squad.
This has created somewhat of an impasse with the club in recent months, which led Chelsea to make a shock approach for Mainoo in the January transfer window. United surely see the young star as a major part of their future and will want to resolve his contract situation as soon as possible.
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