Kobbie Mainoo could leave Manchester United this weekplaceholder image
Kobbie Mainoo could leave Manchester United this week | Manchester United via Getty Images
The latest Man Utd transfer news and gossip with Kobbie Mainoo facing an uncertain future at the club.
The 20-year-old is open to leaving his boyhood club this summer after growing disenchanted over his reduced role under head coach Ruben Amoirm. Mainoo has not featured for United across their opening two matches of the Premier League season but is expected to start when they face Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Mainoo has also been locked in contract talks throughout the calendar year over a new deal that would reflect his level of importance to the first-team squad. The young midfielder signed a four-year deal in February 2023, which is believed to earn him roughly £20,000 a week. The terms made sense for an academy graduate with little senior experience, but no longer reflect the talent of a player who has scored in an FA Cup final and started in the European Championship final for England.
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Mainoo still has two years left on his contract, plus the option of an additional year, so there is no immediate pressure for United to sell, though there is also little reason why the youngster would sign a new contract at a club where he has a diminished role. It leaves the parties at an awkward impasse in the final days of the summer window.
The Athletic claim United quoted a £70m asking price when Chelsea enquired to sign him during the January transfer window but would now accept £45m before deadline day. The report even claims United could accept a lower fee, with various add-ons and sell-on clauses potentially worked into a deal.
It is claimed Mainoo would rather move abroad than remain in the Premier League if he were to leave Old Trafford, with Germany one possibility to the midfielder. Bayern Munich explored the possibility of a move but did not formalise their interest, while Erik ten Hag would be keen on bringing him to Bayer Leverkusen if the finances worked.
Mainoo has supposedly even discussed a possible transfer exit with his teammates, and United have considered a sale throughout the summer transfer window. United sources insist Mainoo is not being forced out of the club, and they still expect him to be at the club beyond the European transfer deadline next week.
A potential sale is attractive to United in the sense that any fee received for the academy graduate would be classified as pure profit, though there might not be many teams that could actually tempt them into a full transfer this late into the transfer window. If United were to sell Mainoo, they would almost certainly have to sign a replacement given their shortage of senior central midfield options.
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