Kobbie Mainoo could consider leaving Manchester United this summer after falling down the pecking order under Ruben Amorim. Mainoo, a graduate of the Red Devils academy, has seen his options limited this season.
The 20-year-old midfielder has twice been named on the bench this season but has not played a single minute. And it now appears that a lack of minutes could force the youngster to look elsewhere.
According totalkSPORT, Mainoo would consider quitting Old Trafford should United receive an acceptable offer for his services. Chelsea have previously been linkedwith a swoop, while the midfielder himself is reportedly open to the prospect of moving abroad.
Mainoo has just under two years remaining on his contract with United. It was previously thought that Red Devils chiefs were keen on tying him down to a new contract but there remains a big gap in salary expectations.
Mainoo was reportedly looking for around £150,000 per week to sign a new deal, an amount that is unfeasible for United at the current time. Should Mainoo move on then any fee that the club receives would be considered as pure profit in their PSR calculations for the forthcoming financial year.
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Asked why he left Mainoo on the bench against Fulham, United boss Amorim revealed that the youngster was now competing with captain Bruno Fernandes. He said: "He’s fighting for the position now with Bruno.
“And I change two midfielders. I let Mason Mount [play] there because we want to score a goal and when I changed I felt the team need to return to one holding midfielder near Bruno.
"So he (Mainoo) just needs to fight for the position with Bruno, as [it] should be at Manchester United. [Sometimes] he’s going to play with Bruno, but at the moment he’s fighting in training with Bruno for the position."
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Meanwhile, United icon Gary Neville has not ruled out the prospect of Mainoo falling even further down the pecking order in the immediate future. “In central midfield, they have to do a piece of business now,” he said on the Gary Neville podcast.
“I would have liked to have thought that Mainoo could step up and be that person, but it is quite clear that at this moment in time Ruben Amorim isn’t having him. He starts with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes, he then puts Mason Mount back in there and he then brings Ugarte on in front of him. That tells you he is almost fourth choice really.
“That means they are going to have to get something sorted because it is going to be a problem. The two in there really do get exposed when the front three are a little bit higher and the back five sometimes get pushed back a bit, those acres of space seem to open up a bit.
“I think Bruno Fernandes is part of that in there and he is going to have to sort it out. I think Man United will have to get a goalkeeper and look at getting a central midfield player.”
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