Manchester United's miserable season continued against Nottingham Forest and under pressure manager Ruben Amorim has been warned he may have to sell one of his few bright prospects
11:10, 02 Apr 2025
Ruben Amorim, Manager of Manchester United
Ruben Amorim's Manchester United are slumped in 13th in the Premier League and financial problems mean they may have to sell to buy(Image: Nigel French/Getty Images)
Joe Cole reckons Manchester United might have no choice but to sell Kobbie Mainoo for financial reasons.
Mainoo's future is in the balance after he failed to agree a new contract with the fallen giants, who lost again away against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night. It has led to speculation the England midfielder could leave Old Trafford this summer.
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United are having to deal with balancing the books due to Financial Fair Play (FFP), and would benefit from selling Mainoo due to him being an academy product.
And former England, Chelsea and Liverpool star Cole believes Mainoo's departure could be inevitable this summer transfer window.
Cole told PaddyPower: " Manchester United are in the same situation as a few other Premier League clubs, where they're going to have to sell academy players to avoid breaking Financial Fair Play.
Kobbie Mainoo could leave Old Trafford
Kobbie Mainoo could leave Old Trafford(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
"There's no way that Manchester United will want to sell Kobbie Mainoo from a technical and football perspective, but if they do sell him, it will be a financial and business decision.
"I'd imagine that Kobbie probably doesn't want to leave United, but he'll want clarity on where he fits at the club.
"He's an England international and one of their better players, so the club looking to sell him will purely be to balance the books."
Cole has told United that supporters will get fed up of seeing business decisions become more important than football ones.
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He added: "I always worry for football clubs like Manchester United, who are predominately making business decisions over football decisions, and over time, that's not going to do down well with the fans.
"They want to know the club is going in the right direction, they want to see great players.
"And they'll want to see Kobbie Mainoo in a United shirt, because he’s a brilliant footballer."