Man United risk unsettling Kobbie Mainoo after midfielder makes surprise transfer demand
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Charlie Grace
Fri 29 August 2025 9:17, UK
Manchester United’s start to the season couldn’t have gone much worse, gaining just one Premier League point and being dumped from the Carabao Cup already.
Now to make matters worse, fan favourite and academy graduate, Kobbie Mainoo has made a surprising transfer demand after falling out of favour with Ruben Amorim.
Mainoo is yet to play a minute of Premier League football yet this season, but did play all 90 minutes and converted his penalty as United lost shockingly to League Two Grimsby Town in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
Amorim’s treatment of Mainoo has been questioned by many and while United’s midfield continues to be overrun, the 20-year-old still sees no minutes.
Following Alejandro Garnacho’s £40 million to Chelsea, United are walking on thin ice with fans and Mainoo’s demands may leave them between a rock and a hard place.
Credit: Imago
Often in recent time, Mainoo and Garnacho have been all that has stood between Amorim and shattering United’s proud history of naming an academy graduate in every matchday squad since 1937.
That may be under even more risk now as David Ornstein of the Athletic revealed: “Kobbie Mainoo has informed Manchester United of his wish to leave on loan before the transfer window deadline..
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Mainoo told Manchester United he has no desire to sever ties, but he wants to move for more game,” Ornstein continued.
However, should the club step in the way of Mainoo’s demands for a loan move for regular first team football, in a World Cup year, the club risk unsettling the player further, and the situation could snowball quickly.
Credit: Imago
Football Insider verdict
“Youth, courage, success” is how the mantra goes at Old Trafford, yet all three of those things have been decidedly lacking during Amorim’s first 10 months in charge of the club.
Amorim’s confusing treatment of Mainoo, has been compounded by how woeful United’s current balance has been in midfield with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes.
To make matters worse, against Fulham the Portuguese head coach opted for Mason Mount and Manuel Ugarte in the midfield pivot ahead of Mainoo, with neither showing anything that would suggest they should play in the role over the England international.
SeasonMinutes played2022-23292023-242,3892024-252,0662025-2690Kobbie Mainoo’s minutes played in his senior Manchester United career (FBref)
So it seems youth is the latest pillar to fall under United’s demise, with courage and success long fallen away, and now Amorim sits at a crossroads.
While he isn’t perfect for the system, Mainoo will bring legs and control to United’s midfield, and small systematic tweaks can allow United’s midfield to be more solid defensively.
Futhermore, Mainoo’s inclusion and progress represents what United is about as a club, and what Amorim is seemingly willing to compromise for his system.
With the exit door seemingly creeping closer, as Mainoo leaves, United’s youth, courage and success may well leave with him.