Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insists that “more than ten” clubs are looking to sign Man Utd midfielder Kobbie Mainoo in the January transfer window.
The Red Devils are looking to sign a new midfielder in the January transfer window, which could knock Mainoo even further down the pecking order.
Amorim, much to the annoyance of the Man Utd board, publicly declared that Mainoo would be serving as a back-up option to captain Bruno Fernandes this season.
That saw Mainoo seek a loan move away from Old Trafford before the end of the summer transfer window, only to be talked into staying by Man Utd director of football Jason Wilcox.
After making no Premier League starts so far this season and 11 substitute appearances, Mainoo is once again looking to leave Man Utd on loan in the winter market.
Mainoo’s brother came to their 4-4 draw against Bournemouth last weekend wearing a ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ t-shirt, but Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim doesn’t hold that against the player himself.
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Amorim just wants the Man Utd midfielder to kick on, stating: “He’s a shy boy, but it’s not his responsibility. He’s responsible for his acts and his act was to play well in the last game, so I’m just focused on that.”
“I had the situation in Sporting (Lisbon) where my brother wrote something on the internet and I had to answer for that. My explanation is, ‘He has his life, he has his opinion, it has nothing to do with me,’ so I will do the same with Kobbie.”
“Kobbie needs to fight for his job. I think that it’s not a bad thing to be on the bench of Manchester United when you are 20 years old.”
“I remember (Cristiano) Ronaldo was on the bench, (Wayne) Rooney was on the bench sometimes. (Juan Sebastian) Veron was not playing.”
“I remember all the history of Manchester United and (there is) no one who didn’t fall (to), so let’s continue trying to avoid the nonsense and the noise.”
“Believe it or not, I just want to help the team to win and help Kobbie to be a better player.”
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Romano has revealed that there are more than ten clubs looking to sign Mainoo, with the England international seeking a way out of Old Trafford on loan before the 2026 World Cup.
Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Ruben Amorim made clear that the shirt, ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo,’ worn by Mainoo’s brother, Jordan, is not something he will sanction or punish Mainoo for, as it was someone else from his family.”
“It’s not that Kobbie is going to play because of that, or he’s not going to play because of that, so there will be no consequences. What I can tell you is that Mainoo still desires to play more, intends to go on loan, develop, grow, and then return to Man Utd.”
“It’s an opportunity for Man Utd to have a better player in the near future. It’s also an opportunity for the player to have a chance to go to the World Cup 2026. So far, he has started zero games in the Premier League, and Kobbie doesn’t want to be in this situation for the second half of the season.”
“We will see how the conversations will go because this story is up to Man Utd. From Napoli, they are really hoping for a solution. Napoli want Mainoo. It’s more than 10 clubs already interested, but Napoli, after (Scott) McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund, who are both doing very well there, hope they will have the chance to get Mainoo from Man Utd.”
“But this will be up to Man Utd and Amorim. Mainoo is waiting. Napoli are waiting. They are waiting to see what Man Utd will do. At the moment, there is still no sort of green light.”