West Ham United should jump at the opportunity to sign Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo during the January transfer window, according to former England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips.
The young midfielder faced an uncertain future at Old Trafford having fallen out of favour under Ruben Amorim, with the January transfer window looming.
And according to Wright-Phillips, West Ham – who have been linked with a move for the 20-year-old – should sign the Stockport-born central player to boost Nuno Santo’s options for the latter half of the 2025/26 campaign.
It would also be a good move for the player too, insisted Wright-Phillips, with the World Cup looming next summer – and Mainoo having played just 178 for the Red Devils so far this season.
“If Man United are not going to play him or sell him, it’d be a good move from my point of view,” Wright-Phillips, the son of former Hammer Ian Wright told BestBettingSites. “If he wants to be at the World Cup he should take the chance.
“I think he’s plenty good enough. It must be so frustrating for him knowing his ability and how well he has done, even when he has only had a few minutes, that the endgame is still the same.
“At that age you just want to play football, you just want to express yourself. He burst onto the scene and for a while he was always the first name on the team sheet. Now all of a sudden no matter what he does, he’s not on the team sheet.
“So where do you go from there? For me, he has to look elsewhere. He needs to get football. He needs to get minutes.
“As far as I can tell, he hasn’t done anything wrong. If you look at Man United over the last year, you could arguably say that when he has played, he’s been one of their best players. So the treatment that he’s getting, I honestly can’t understand it.
“Hence the reason why I’m saying that no matter what he does, he’s not going to start unless something happens or someone gets injured. I don’t think he’ll get a start on merit.”
Although Mainoo’s current club are not believed to be considering a permanent sale, a half-season loan move could suit all parties – with West Ham being cash-strapped currently.
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