Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo is described as “open to leaving” the club, although options to move before Monday’s transfer deadline are limited.
Mainoo became a first-team regular midway through the 2023–24 season and finished that campaign by scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup final. His meteoric club rise prompted inclusion in England’s Euro 2024 squad and he played a key role in the Three Lions reaching the final.
But the Stockport-born talent’s momentum stalled last season. He had two frustrating spells on the sideline because of muscle injuries and, like most of the squad with games coming thick and fast, seemed to get lost in the new tactical system implemented by Ruben Amorim.
With Amorim appearing to favour other players, The Athletic reports that Mainoo isn’t against the idea of exiting the club that first scouted him at the age of six. The 20-year-old has been linked with Chelsea in the past, but the likelihood of securing a transfer that works for all parties with less than a week until the transfer deadline appears slim. At this stage, most clubs have conducted their main business and budgets might not stretch to a further big signing.
In the opening weeks of 2025–26, Mainoo has been an unused substitute. Amorim has started both Premier League games so far with Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro in central midfield, while Mason Mount has enjoyed a resurrection further forward alongside Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.
When Amorim has made changes in midfield during games, he’s turned to Manuel Ugarte. United have also been chasing a new energetic midfielder in the transfer market, although interest in Brighton & Hove Albion’s Carlos Baleba was shelved over a prohibitive price tag.
The news has upset many Manchester United fans, who view Mainoo as the most talented player to emerge from the club’s famed academy in a generation. He has two years left on the contract he signed at the start of 2023, before his first team breakthrough, although the club holds an option to extend it by another 12 months. Contract talks have also been a rumoured point of contention over the last 18 months, unable to come to an agreement, with an offer made in early 2025.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Open to Leaving’—Man Utd Risk Fan Backlash With Academy Star Unsettled.