According to reports, Kobbie Mainoo has made a decision on his transfer ‘preference’ as he is ‘deeply frustrated’ at Manchester United.
The England international’s long-term future is in serious doubt as he has dropped in the pecking order at Man Utd.
Mainoo enjoyed a remarkable breakout season in 2023/24 as he emerged as one of the best young footballers in Europe, but he has suffered a major fall from grace over the past year amid his injury issues and a loss of form.
Ruben Amorim is clearly not sold on Mainoo as he has only been a bit-part player since his arrival, with it unclear whether the midfielder can fit into the head coach’s preferred 3-4-3 formation.
In January, Man Utd opened the door to Mainoo leaving as they looked to sanction pure profit sales to balance the books and he attracted interest from Chelsea, who reportedly would have had to pay £70m to sign him.
Chelsea, unsurprisingly, did not sanction a move for Mainoo at this price, with fresh reports claiming Man Utd have decided to ease their demands.
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There has been new speculation regarding Mainoo in recent days, as he has been an unused substitute in Man Utd’s opening two Premier League games of the 2025/26 campaign.
Earlier this week, respected journalist David Ornstein revealed that Mainoo is open to leaving Man Utd, while The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell provided more details on Wednesday morning.
Whitwell claims Mainoo is ‘deeply frustrated’ after being snubbed by Amorim at the start of this campaign, with his ‘preference’ being a move to a ‘European team’ amid shock interest from Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
He has also noted that the Red Devils have ‘considered the prospect of selling Mainoo all summer’ and while it’s internally believed that he has ‘areas to improve’, ‘people at Old Trafford expect him to remain a United player beyond next week’s deadline’.
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Despite this, Whitwell has also pointed out that Man Utd have decided to lower their asking price for Mainoo.
‘Mainoo is thought to prefer moving to the continent rather than staying in the Premier League — he explored options in Germany when coming through United’s academy — even though there has been interest from closer to home.
‘When Chelsea enquired about his availability during the January window, Stamford Bridge officials were quoted a £70million asking price. There is a belief United would now accept around £45m, potentially even less as the deadline draws near.’