Kobbie Mainoo has informed Manchester United he wants to go out on loan before Monday’s transfer deadline, but the unsettled England midfielder has been told to stay and fight for a place at Old Trafford.
Daily Mail Sport revealed on Tuesday that Mainoo was open to leaving his boyhood club and United would take 48 hours to make a decision over his future.
After making his first appearance of the season in the disastrous Carabao Cup defeat to Grimsby Town, Mainoo told the club that he would like a loan move to secure more regular football but did not want a permanent transfer away from the club he joined at the age of six.
We reported earlier this week that 10 top teams in the Premier League and around Europe were interested in signing Mainoo, with both Madrid clubs and Napoli among them.
However, United have made it clear to the 20-year-old and his representatives that they want him to stay at Old Trafford.
Mainoo has made just 16 starts in 45 games since Ruben Amorim took over in November, and United’s head coach warned him last weekend that he is in direct competition with captain Bruno Fernandes for a place in midfield.
Kobbie Mainoo has told Manchester United he wants to leave on loan this summer
The midfielder has seen his game time restricted since Ruben Amorim’s arrival
Liverpool
Arsenal
*18+, excludes NI. Terms and conditions apply
He has become frustrated over his lack of game time and the slow progress in contract talks with the club.
Mainoo is understood to be concerned about his England place ahead of next year’s World Cup having missed out on new manager Thomas Tuchel’s first two squads. A starter in the final of Euro 2024 against Spain, it’s almost a year since he won the last of his 10 caps.
Mainoo’s request came on the same day that United confirmed they have agreed terms for Alejandro Garnacho, another star of their academy, to join Chelsea in a £40million deal with a 10 per cent sell-on clause.
It makes the 21-year-old Argentina winger the fourth largest sale in United’s history behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku and Angel Di Maria.
United are said to be pleased with the deal because Garnacho was pushing strongly to leave after being dumped in Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’ this summer, and Chelsea’s opening offer was £25m.
Daily Mail Sport revealed in January that United would consider letting Garnacho and Mainoo go at the right price to comply with profit and sustainability regulations.
Under PSR rules, both players are worth 100 per cent profit on the balance sheet because they are homegrown, and United needed to recoup some cash this summer after spending more than £210m on Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Diego Leon.
The club are in advanced talks with Napoli and Real Betis over deals for Rasmus Hojlund and Antony that are likely to end in both players going on loan with an obligation to buy if they play a set number of games.
