Cole Palmer has appeared to back Kobbie Mainoo after the Manchester United midfielder was denied a loan exit in the final hours of the transfer window.
Mainoo, 20, was keen to leave Old Trafford temporarily in search of more regular football, but United boss Ruben Amorim blocked the request and told him to stay and fight for his place.
The midfielder has been left on the fringes this season, making just one Premier League appearance in August, and was overlooked for Thomas Tuchel’s squad for this month’s World Cup qualifiers.
After the window closed, Mainoo posted a series of pictures on Instagram that left supporters guessing. The collection showed him sitting pensively, training alone and working in the gym.
The fourth image was a striking shot of actor Miles Teller in the film Whiplash, pounding a drum in frustration. As Daily Mail Sport’s Nathan Salt noted on social media, the movie is ‘in one aspect, about a rising star that can never seem to satisfy their mentor/coach.’
Chelsea forward Palmer, a close friend of Mainoo’s from their time together with England, was quick to leave a comment that only fuelled speculation. ‘3 my boy,’ he wrote alongside a love heart emoji — a message that many fans interpreted as shorthand for ‘Free my boy’.
Kobbie Mainoo wanted to leave Manchester United on loan but his wish did not come true
Mainoo pictured alongside friend Cole Palmer after England lost to Spain in the Euro 2024 final
Others on X suggested Palmer might have been hinting at ‘three more months’ until the January transfer window — with some cheekily proposing Chelsea could then move to snap up his England team-mate.
The comment quickly racked up more than 10,000 likes, with many United supporters believing Palmer was hinting that Mainoo should be allowed to leave in order to play more. Some also felt it underlined the growing frustration of a player once tipped as a cornerstone of United’s rebuild.
Club team-mates responded to Mainoo’s post too. Leny Yoro used a celebratory GIF of the midfielder, while Joshua Zirkzee replied with an anime clip of Goku regenerating in a tank.
Mainoo has struggled for minutes under Amorim recently, after playing 69 times for United over the past two seasons and being involved in England’s run to the Euro 2024 final.
He had featured heavily under Erik ten Hag and was widely praised for his composure in midfield, but is seemingly now behind Casemiro, Mason Mount and Manuel Ugarte in the pecking order.
Palmer and Mainoo’s bond has been well documented. The pair posed together for GQ’s Men of the Year issue last winter and spoke of becoming close during England’s run to the Euros final in Germany.
Palmer scored in that final defeat by Spain, while Mainoo started four matches in midfield during the Euros.
