Kobbie Mainoo’s future at Manchester United is expected to dominate the transfer agenda in January, but Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be delighted to see Ruben Amorim’s latest step.
It was reported in the summer that Sir Jim Ratcliffe personally intervened in the Kobbie Mainoo situation to ensure the Carrington graduate didn’t leave the club.
He got his wish, but Ruben Amorim’s treatment of Mainoo since hasn’t improved, with the player yet to play a full 90 minutes in the league this season.
With the January window approaching, Ratcliffe would have been hoping to avoid a repeat of the summer, and Amorim’s latest message to Mainoo means he might get his wish.
Ruben Amorim’s thinly-veiled message to Kobbie Mainoo
Amorim might not have given many minutes to Mainoo, but he regularly praises the player’s qualities in interviews and press conferences.
Amorim recently gave his verdict on Mainoo’s training performances, which clearly aren’t doing his first-team prospects any harm.
The challenge for Mainoo is entirely out of his hands because it involves usurping the captain of the club from his position.
With one game every week, Bruno Fernandes, who is the definition of an “Iron Man”, is not going to rest or get injured (fingers crossed!), which means Mainoo has to sit on the bench.
With a World Cup on the horizon, that’s far from ideal for Mainoo, and his short-term future might lie away from Old Trafford.
Not the long-term, though, as Amorim has sent a timely message to him with comments directed towards Fernandes.
He said: “I’m not thinking about the rotation of the players in the future. Yes. It’s something that Bruno needs to understand. In this league, if you want to win every game that you are a part of, with European games, you are going to have to rotate. Just for Bruno to put in his head that maybe next year he’s going to be in rotation in the team.”
A six-month loan might benefit all parties
Ratcliffe will be glad that his prized asset, Mainoo, is now being indirectly given assurances over his long-term future at the club.
In the meantime, a six-month loan in January might still be the best way forward, especially if Mainoo itches for a move and his World Cup spot is genuinely at risk.
Missing a World Cup would strain his relationship with the club, and United can also use this opportunity to get ahead of their summer plans.
Sending Mainoo on loan so he can earn a World Cup place, and replacing him with someone like Conor Gallagher on loan with an option to buy in the summer, will achieve two objectives at once.
United will get one proven Premier League player for another, and have a six-month period to assess Gallagher’s long-term fit.
Then next season, they can look forward to more games with a depth chart including Mainoo, Fernandes, Manuel Ugarte, potentially Gallagher, and their marquee midfield signing in the summer.
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