Kobbie Mainoo may renew his push to leave Manchester United on loan this January as he continues to play limited minutes under Ruben Amorim, according to a new report by The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell
and Mark Critchley.
Twenty months ago, the then 19-year-old Mainoo scored the game-winning goal against Manchester City in the FA Cup Final — securing the club’s second trophy in two years following a six-year silverware drought. Two months later, Mainoo started in the Euro 2024 Cup Final against Spain, playing 70 minutes
This is proving to be a very confusing alienation of a young and promising academy graduate who had no problem making a massive impact during previous manager Erik ten Hag’s tenure and earning the attention of former England boss Sir Gareth Southgate. Amorim has previously said that Mainoo is best suited for the midfield pivot role played by Bruno Fernandes, deputizing (relegating) Mainoo to play behind the United captain who is (let us not brush aside) already playing out of his preferred position. Of course, Fernandes famously plays virtually every minute for United meaning that if Mainoo is only suited to replace Fernandes in the system, he doesn’t play.
Then, let’s factor in another statistic from this season that should make everyone feel queasy. Manuel Ugarte has played 314 minutes in 10 Premier League appearances compared to Mainoo’s 171 minutes across nine appearances.
Amorim might say this is because Ugarte is the deputy to Casemiro and Casemiro cannot play full matches like Fernandes, opening up more opportunities for Ugarte. I might say that’s institutional malpractice, but, hey, I concede I’m just a guy behind a keyboard who watches Ugarte routinely fail in matches to make a positive impact in ball progression and defense — his two primary jobs as a holding midfielder.
Needing to win and developing youth can sometimes run counter to each other, and Amorim has my sympathy that he’s in a tough spot. He needs finished products to win now and paper over last year’s 15th place finish, which, of course, was something that he had quite a bit of influence in orchestrating, I might add.
As the January transfer window looms, the situation of Mainoo’s potential loan invites elements of both romanticism and cynicism.
The romantic element of a potential departure is the heartbreak of another local kid achieving his dream of making the United first team after spending years in the academy and then being let down because the current manager wasn’t willing to work around that player’s strengths.
The cynical part feels more icky to type up, but it’s a product of how football is looked at now. If you’re an accountant looking at players from the standpoint that their potential transfer fee is an asset for a club to cash in on to conduct other business, then Mainoo’s transfer value is actively depreciating as an “asset” for Manchester United. He’s not playing and his manager has no problem talking about the things he’s not capable of doing to break into a team that is definitionally, mediocre at the moment. Bad and more bad!
If Amorim is going to be the long-term answer at manager, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe has previously stated, and if Mainoo is not in Amorim’s plans, Mainoo needs to start playing elsewhere on loan (I’m really not enjoying writing this btw) so his eventual transfer is not on a discount like Alejandro Garnacho’s. Let us not forget, United is actively courting other midfielders — very expensive ones — and they will need every penny they can get to fund a transfer.
Midfielder depth is looking quite disparate for the club next summer, with Casemiro likely leaving when his deal runs up, and the rumors around Fernandes eventually leaving on a big money deal never fully going away. But, hey, if we sell Mainoo for a load of cash and bring in one player like Adam Wharton or Elliot Anderson or Carlos Baleba for a nine-figure transfer fee, I’m sure they’ll single-handedly fix all the structural and depth issues and not face an avalanche of pressure and social media abuse with any missed pass or tackle.
Whatever happens with Mainoo in January, Whitwell and Critchley don’t think it will happen at the beginning of the window because Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo, and Noussair Mazraoui are all set to leave for the African Cup of Nations, which is expected to affect how United approaches letting Mainoo go on loan. Even when those three return, it makes you wonder what the plan is if Mainoo were to go on loan and — GOD FORBID — Fernandes suffers an injury to his 31-year-old body after playing like a billion minutes since joining United almost seven years ago. Sorry for even suggesting something so calamitous.
