Mainoo needs to leave Man Utd because of Amorim

Robin Bairner

• 31 Jan 2025 07:00 GMT
• 4 min read

Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo might have been central to the 2-0 win over FCSB in the Europa League on Thursday, but the England international midfielder has bene told he would likely be best moving on from under Ruben Amorim's wing.

United laboured for periods in Romania and notably improved once Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench to add a spark to the Red Devils.

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Current ETV

Kobbie Mainoo

M, DM (C)

Man Utd

Kobbie Mainoo

M, DM (C)

Man Utd

€34.8M

ETV Range

€26.1M - €43.5M

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The Argentine, who continues to be linked with a transfer to Napoli or Chelsea late in the January window, most notably set up Mainoo’s win-securing second goal with a surge down the left and a cutback that allowed the 19-year-old to strike.

The Englishman is also linked with a potential departure from Old Trafford and Joe Cole believes he may be better served away from Amorim’s high-octane style of football.

“This is not an athletic boy but technically he’s wonderful,” Cole told TNT Sport. “I think he needs to play in a possession-based team, he needs bodies around him and he needs to discipline himself.

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“I’d be working on a daily basis off the ball. Is he blocking passing lanes? He needs to pre-empt what’s happening.

“He’s never going to be someone who’s going to cover the ground like an N’Golo Kante.

“I’d be doing a lot of video work with him, a lot of three against threes with small games, where he’s blocking lines. He needs to develop that part of his game.”

Chelsea have been the club most active in pursuing Mainoo, with the Blues also interested in Garnacho.

Casemiro before Mainoo?

Asked if he would sell Mainoo, pundit James Horncastle explained the logic behind United’s thinking.

“It’s a conversation that United are having to have because they’ve got a PSR issue. He’s an academy graduate, so he’s pure profit,” he said.

Don Hutchinson argued: “I think with Christian Eriksen free in the summer, he’d sell Casemiro before Kobbie Mainoo.

“I don’t think it would sit well with Man Utd fans if they started selling the likes of Mainoo.”

Casemiro has been linked with a possible move to the Saudi Pro League, which has snapped up Jhon Duran and is targeting a sensational swoop for Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma.