Kobbie Mainoo weighs exit as Amorim benching sparks late-window interest

• by Arlen Fitzpatrick
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Two league games, zero minutes. That’s the tally so far for Kobbie Mainoo under new Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim, and it has turned a quiet contract situation into a loud transfer story during the final week of the window. The 20-year-old midfielder, who lit up the 2023/24 season and was shortlisted for the Golden Boy award, has watched both of United’s Premier League outings from the bench. On Sunday, he watched Fulham’s Emile Smith Rowe snatch a late equaliser for 1-1 and, again, didn’t get the call.

Supporters made their feelings clear. Social feeds were full of the same question: why ignore a homegrown midfielder when United needed control and a spark? Amorim faced that head-on. He said Mainoo is “fighting for the position now with Bruno Fernandes,” a line that did little to calm the reaction. In a midfield that has rotated Casemiro, Fernandes, Manuel Ugarte, and Mason Mount, leaving out a player known for his press resistance and quick feet has become the talking point of United’s start.

The picture has shifted fast. According to talkSPORT, Mainoo would now consider leaving his boyhood club this week if the right proposal arrives. His deal runs until 2027, and there have been conversations over an extension, but those have not moved forward. No one at Carrington is pretending this is ideal. United have spent 18 months celebrating their academy pipeline. Letting a prized graduate weigh an exit in the last days of the window is the exact scenario they try to avoid.

So how did it come to this? The short answer: selection and timing. At Arsenal on opening day, United went with Casemiro and Fernandes. The plan wasn’t bad—United carried a threat—but when the game swung late, Amorim turned to Ugarte instead of Mainoo. Ugarte struggled to settle, and United lost their grip. Against Fulham, it was similar. The starters faded, the control dipped, and the bench door stayed shut for Mainoo. Two snapshots, but in a market this sensitive, two snapshots can be enough to trigger calls from agents and rivals.

There’s also the bigger context. The Premier League window closes on September 1. United expect a busy final stretch, with outgoings needed to create room and address Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR). Clubs across the league have leaned on homegrown sales in recent years because academy graduates count as “pure profit” in accounting terms. That doesn’t mean United want to sell Mainoo. It does mean that if a premium bid lands, the finance department will run the numbers.

Mainoo’s recent arc makes the decision even harder. His breakout last season was real, not just hype. He broke lines, took the ball under pressure, and played with a calm tempo that made older teammates look rushed. Then came the comedown: niggling injuries and dip in form took chunks out of his spring. He still drew attention, though. Chelsea were among the clubs linked in January when United were exploring ways to raise funds, and scouts have kept watching. When a 20-year-old England international becomes available—even tentatively—phones ring.

Why the debate is so sharp now

Amorim’s message is simple: places are earned. He views Fernandes as his main attacking midfielder and wants a ball-winner beside him. In Lisbon, Amorim often used a 3-4-3 that morphed into a box midfield, with clear roles for destroyers and playmakers. At United, he has leaned on Casemiro’s experience and Ugarte’s legs. Mount has come on to connect moves. That leaves Mainoo in a squeeze. He’s not the pure No 6 Casemiro is, and he’s not the high-volume chance creator Fernandes is. He is the bridge—press resistant, brave in small spaces, neat in tight triangles. That nuance is precisely why fans want him on the pitch.

There’s a tactical wrinkle too. When United lose control late in games, the issues are often second balls and spacing between the lines. Managers tend to fix that with a runner who can tackle and carry. Ugarte fits that profile on paper. But when his timing is off, United concede fouls and possession, and their attacks become stretched. Mainoo offers a different route: keep it, circulate it, shift the press, and advance play with short bursts. It’s not as dramatic as a crunching tackle, but it often puts a lid on games. In both league fixtures, that was the missing piece.

Amorim isn’t blind to that. People around the group expect Mainoo to start the Carabao Cup tie at Grimsby Town. That matters, but starting a cup game is not the same as trust in the league. For a player in this phase of his career, minutes in the bread-and-butter competition carry the weight. If those minutes don’t come by the weekend, the calculus for everyone—player, agent, and club—changes.

There’s also psychology. When a young player is told he’s competing with the club captain, it can land two ways. One, as a challenge to sharpen up. Or two, as a signal that the path is blocked for the foreseeable future. Mainoo is competitive. He wants the ball, wants the stage. Hearing that Fernandes is his marker won’t scare him, but it does clarify the time horizon. If United cannot guarantee a regular role by Christmas, rivals will offer one.

On top of that sits the contract picture. United tied Mainoo down through 2027 for a reason, then opened talks about improving terms in line with his status. Those talks haven’t moved. That doesn’t mean a breakdown, but stalled momentum in August never helps. If the window closes and he still isn’t playing, every week after that makes a new deal harder to sell to the player’s camp unless the terms jump.

Fans are sensitive to all of this because the club has talked up a youth-led reboot. They want to see that on the pitch, not just in presentations. If a homegrown England international can’t get on when the team is chasing control, it clashes with the message. The scepticism online isn’t just about one substitution. It’s about whether United are building a midfield identity where a technician like Mainoo is central, or drifting back to a mix-and-match approach.

And then there’s the market. Late August always brings opportunists. Premier League rivals test fences. Clubs abroad ask for loan terms with options. United’s stance is consistent: they won’t undervalue Mainoo. But there are flexible ways to cut deals. A permanent sale with buy-back. A large sell-on clause. A loan with an obligation triggered by appearances. These tools give selling clubs cover if a youngster explodes elsewhere. They also give the player a path to immediate minutes.

What United and bidders are weighing

From United’s side, the internal checklist is blunt. One: does Amorim see a clear role for Mainoo in the league before the next international break? Two: does keeping him block a much-needed sale that helps PSR? Three: if a bid lands, can they build in control—buy-back, matching rights, sell-on—that protects them if he becomes a star, as many at Carrington still expect?

There’s a squad balance element too. If Casemiro’s legs fade late in games, United need a security blanket who can both regain and retain the ball. If Fernandes is locked at No 10, United need a controller next to him who can take first passes off the back line and set the tempo. That profile is rare and expensive in the market. It is, ironically, the profile Mainoo offers at a fraction of the cost—if he plays.

For suitors, the thinking is straightforward. You don’t often get a chance to sign a 20-year-old England international with Premier League experience and a long runway. Top-flight sporting directors have already costed it out. Transfer fee at a premium because of contract length. Wages manageable now but rising on renewal. Upside significant. Risk? Moderate, tied mainly to last season’s injuries and the question of how quickly he adapts to a new system.

Where could he land? Chelsea were linked in January when United listened to interest in academy assets. Clubs with a need for a press-resistant midfielder are natural fits, and that pool includes both domestic sides and teams in the top tier of Spain and Germany. The exact names are fluid, as they always are at this point, but the profile is clear: possession-focused coaches who want a link player, not just a runner.

All of this plays out against a tough schedule. United need points. The energy around the team took a hit after Arsenal and Fulham. Amorim must show a plan for how his midfield will control games, not just compete in them. If he trusts Mainoo to do that, the noise dies down quickly. If not, every quiet team sheet will roar.

There’s also the wider PSR landscape. Clubs across the league have made uncomfortable sales to balance the books. Manchester City moved academy talent at strong fees. Chelsea did the same with several Cobham graduates. The logic isn’t complicated: selling homegrown players creates clear profit on the books, which can then be recycled into signings. United have historically been reluctant to do that with their best youngsters. This is the test of that stance.

In the dressing room, teammates know the stakes. Mainoo is popular and low maintenance. He trains well, keeps it simple, and doesn’t hide in possession. Senior players value that. They also know how fast things change. One start, one strong 70-minute display in the league, and the story flips. But the market won’t wait for that moment beyond Sunday.

From the player’s camp, the message is sensible: he wants to play. If United can map out meaningful minutes in the Premier League, he’d rather stay. If they can’t, he’ll listen. That’s not a power play; it’s the reality for a 20-year-old whose stock rose last season for what he did on the pitch, not what he promised.

United, for their part, have other moving pieces. There are expected outgoings across the squad. Offers exist for fringe players. The club has to manage not just fees but salary space and squad registration slots. In that puzzle, a decision on Mainoo is both a football call and a finance call. It is also a culture call about what kind of midfield United want to build.

Eyes now turn to midweek. If Mainoo starts the Carabao Cup tie and looks sharp, the pressure shifts back to the Premier League team sheet at the weekend. If he sits again, the phones will keep buzzing. Either way, the next few days will decide whether one of United’s brightest academy graduates stays to fight through a crowded midfield or tests the market with a week to spare.

There is no perfect outcome. Keeping him and not playing him stunts growth and invites outside bids in January. Selling him solves a short-term PSR question but could haunt United if he blossoms elsewhere. The compromise—keeping him, playing him, and revisiting a richer contract when minutes reflect his status—is there if Amorim wants it. But he has to show it with selections, not soundbites.

Two matches don’t define a season. They can, however, define a transfer window. Mainoo’s next 180 minutes—if he gets them—will tell us more than any briefing. For now, the story is simple: a gifted young midfielder is waiting at the touchline. The whistle is in United’s hand.