The Guardian have just dropped a rare transfer exclusive, with Will Unwin reporting on the future of a known Chelsea target.
As Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo gets closer to the end of his contract, which has just over two years to run, the rumours get more intense about his departure.
The England capped star is on a £20,000 a week deal with United and is clearly on track for a huge raise wherever he goes. But “protracted negotiations” have gone nowhere, and it looks more likely than ever that he will leave. Chelsea are mentioned as an interested party, as they have been a few times before.
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Chelsea fans wave flags at Stamford Bridge.
Behdad Eghbali at Stamford Bridge
Manchester United are cost-cutting across the board, and just aren’t in a position to give a player whatever they want to stick around, at least from an optics point of view.
Until now, we’ve always believed that a deal would get done. This piece puts that in huge doubt.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that, even though Mainoo is “minded to reject the offer of a new contract,” it’s stated that “moving to another Premier League club is not currently part of his thinking.”
He’s valued at €70m by Manchester United according to this piece – there are very few teams abroad who could or would pay that much, so he Mainoo and United may have to take what they can get.
Mainoo could still get his head turned by major Chelsea offer
Kobbie Mainoo in action for England.
Kobbie Mainoo in action for England.
While his plan may be to try his luck abroad, and we’ve seen tons of players in a similar position like his Angel Gomes make a similar move and thrive, we still think it’s impossible to rule out a Chelsea move. If we make a good enough offer we’re sure we can make him second guess his desire to move abroad.
The question is if our own wage structure allows us to make such an offer.