If you’d have told Man United fans that roughly two years after breaking into the first team, star academy talent Kobbie Mainoo would request a loan move away from the club, they would have called you ever name under the sun.
Unfortunately for the Old Trafford faithful, that is the reality they currently live in. Ruben Amorim can’t find a place for him in his favourite, and seemingly flawed, tactical setup, and with his spot in next year’s World Cup up in the air, the 20-year-old is weighing his options.
Speaking ahead of United’s shock Carabao Cup defeat to Grimsby, which Mainoo started, Amorim revealed that Mainoo will have to supplant club captain and star player Bruno Fernandes if he wants to be a regular in his side. No easy task.
The club have since turned down Mainoo’s request for a loan and told him to fight for his place, so where does this leave them?
Why can’t Kobbie Mainoo get into Ruben Amorim’s side?
United’s continued need for a midfielder is clear to everyone. They tried to lure Carlos Baleba out of Brighton but after the Seagulls told them to stump up over £100 million, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co admitted defeat and dropped their pursuit.
Instead, they went and spent £74 million on Benjamin Sesko. It was another problem area for United but it’s a lot of money to spend on a player that has to be considered a ‘project’ for Amorim considering his age and lack of Premier League experience.
Mainoo’s theoretical best position in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation would be as one of his two number tens, but he now has Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo ahead of him in those positions. Given Mainoo’s lack of goals, those two signings weren’t as misguided.
Fernandes now has to play further back, in a position he isn’t comfortable in, with a defensive midfielder next to him that simply doesn’t have the legs to be a regular in the most demanding league on the planet.
Mainoo is a press resistant box-to-box midfielder with a profile that isn’t dissimilar to Baleba’s, the Brighton man just has that extra lung needed to cover every blade of grass needed when playing next to someone like Fernandes.
If United hadn’t signed Sesko and perhaps given Mbeumo the chance to play as a number nine, something he did effectively on occasion while at Brentford, Mainoo would have had more opportunities either in that number ten spot or further back should Amorim decide to stick Fernandes up there.
Essentially, Amorim’s stubbornness and United’s top heavy transfer strategy mean he either has the club captain or a shiny new signing in his way.
Could Kobbie Mainoo simply wait Ruben Amorim out?
His reported reluctance to leave the club permanently may suggest that Mainoo believes he can out last Amorim at United, and with 28 points from his 29 Premier League games since taking over, he may well be right.
According to the BBC, Amorim retains the backing of the board despite United’s disastrous start to the season. As for the fans, defeat to League Two Grimsby on Wednesday (August 27) and the image of their manager playing with his magnetic tactics board in the rain have been heard to shake. Insert Mick McCarthy ‘It can’t get any worse’ meme here.
Speaking to the press ahead of United’s now crucial game against Burnley at Old Trafford on Saturday, Amorim clearly stated that he wants Mainoo to stay, and remarkable said: "Sometimes I want to quit, sometimes I want to be here for 20 years. Sometimes I love to be with my players, sometimes I don't want to be with them. So, again, I need to improve on that. It's going to be hard. But now I'm good with the next one."
The reality is the transfer window is still open, Man United have just sold Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea and Sky Sports report that the club have accepted a bid of around £25 million including add-ons from Real Betis for Antony, giving them more wriggle room in the remaining few days of the transfer window.
Parallels with the 2014-15 season are quite remarkable. Under Louis van Gaal, United were knocked out of the League Cup by a lower league side, losing 4-0 to MK Dons. They then went on to sign Angel Di Maria, Daley Blind, and Radamal Falcao on loan, finishing fourth.
So, if history is anything to go by, United could still bring in a new midfielder and Amorim could turn it all around, however unlikely it all feels at this moment in time. Requesting a loan was smart by Mainoo, but it’s not a guarantee that he could still have a future at United beyond this season.
Who could sign Kobbie Mainoo?
The midfielder has two years left on his Man United contract, with guarantees over game time said to be a major stumbling block in talks over a new deal. The Guardian reported a few months back that Mainoo was ‘intrigued’ by a move abroad.
Real Madrid have been linked, as have Antonio Conte’s Napoli, but the most obvious, and perhaps ominous threat to Man United fans comes from Chelsea. The West London club have a long-standing interest in Mainoo and even enquired about his availability in January.
There will doubtless be plenty of clubs both domestic and foreign interested in taking Mainoo on loan should United give into his demands to leave, but as of yet, no offer has been made, and no credible links have emerged.
Verdict
A loan move would seem to suit everyone involved, even if it does leave United short in central midfield. It means Mainoo doesn’t join a rival club, and should they part ways with Amorim sooner rather than later, they retain an asset who is still young and capable of making a real impact down the line.
Letting him go permanently isn’t an option. Not only will fans start to question the INEOS project for selling arguably their best academy product since Marcus Rashford, it would more likely that not strengthen a rival Premier League side.