Kobbie Mainoo will re-iterate his desire to leave Manchester United on loan despite the club saying he must stay and fight for his place.
Ruben Amorim has made it clear to the 20-year-old that he is now in direct competition with captain Bruno Fernandes for a place and that seems a battle he is unlikely to win.
Fernandes played 57 out of United’s 60 games last season and is pivotal to Amorim’s plans.
Although Mainoo started against Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, the team’s exit means the youngster’s most realistic chance of minutes will be as a substitute or when Fernandes is injured.
It is a pattern in selection that first emerged towards the second half of last season culminating in Mainoo being left out of the Europa League Final against Tottenham. Indeed, he has made just eight league starts since the turn of the year.
To compound matters further, he was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia with the England manager stating that he needs to play minutes to justify selection.
Kobbie Mainoo will re-iterate his desire to leave Manchester United despite being told he must stay
The 20-year-old is in direct competition with Bruno Fernandes for a spot in the United midfield
Mainoo held discussions with United on Thursday to say he wanted to leave on loan for the benefit of his career and to play more regular first team football. The club have turned down his request and insisted they would need to find a replacement first.
Amorim, aware of Mainoo’s request, chose not to address the situation with the player in person on Friday, but told his press conference: ‘I want Kobbie to stay. He needs to fight for his place, and we need Kobbie. So that is not going to change.
‘The rest I don’t know how it’s going to finish. I understand that the players that are not playing in this moment are disappointed, but everyone has the same opportunity to play. You have to fight during the week.’
However, Mainoo remains determined to leave in the finals days of the window.
Despite his strong attachment to his boyhood club he is eager to play more regularly, particularly in a World Cup year.
Ideally, that would be at Manchester United but Amorim seems set on leaving him on the periphery.
United’s stance is further complicated by the fact Mainoo’s contract remains unsigned. A compromise over new terms was verbally reached as far back as February but, more than six months on, that deal has not been formally presented to the player or his representatives.
That situation has not gone unnoticed with Champions League clubs already making enquiries over a loan and exploring the possibility of a permanent move. United’s failure to secure one of their most valuable academy graduates has risked opening the door to offers.
Ruben Amorim said that he would like Mainoo to stay in his press conference on Friday
The midfielder was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad on Friday for their upcoming friendlies
The midfielder was starting for England in the European Championships final against Spain just over a year ago and now finds himself struggling to get minutes for his club.
Amorim underlined his reasoning following last weekend’s draw at Fulham, saying: ‘I let Mason Mount [play] there because we want to score a goal and when I changed I felt the team need to return to one holding midfielder near Bruno. So he (Mainoo) just needs to fight for the position with Bruno, as [it] should be at Manchester United.’
England boss Tuchel, asked for his opinion on Mainoo’s situation, referenced the midfielder’s performance at the European Championships: ‘He deserved to start (against Spain). He was impressive,’ said Tuchel. ‘How he played in the club is maybe the most important and then it was almost logical step that he played for the country and he played fearless. He played with excitement that the youth sometimes brings and now he experienced the other side of it. Sometimes you can feel the pressure and changes in the club are not in your favour and he’s lacking the minutes.
‘I don’t think he lacks anything else. He has the experience, the power, the quality, the talent to be on our list. He is on our list of players but at the moment, on his position six, eight, 10 position we have players who are in full rhythm and who play key parts in their clubs, and this is the next step for him.’
Mainoo has made it clear he has always wished to progress at Old Trafford but under the current circumstances is finding his route to the first team blocked and believes his best course of action for the sake of his career is to look elsewhere.
