Fabrizio Romano has revealed that there was a twist in the future of Kobbie Mainoo just before Manchester United sacked Rúben Amorim.
Manchester United have hit an impressive run of form since Michael Carrick stepped into the dugout, with the Reds picking up victories over Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham.
They will be aiming to keep that momentum going as they push to secure Champions League football for next season, with Carrick’s side currently sitting fourth in the table.
A major talking point since the managerial switch has been the return of Kobbie Mainoo to the starting XI. The young midfielder had struggled for consistent minutes under Rúben Amorim and was even exploring a possible loan move during the January window.
However, Carrick is a big admirer of Mainoo, and the teenager has repaid that faith by playing the full 90 minutes in all three matches, playing a key role in United’s winning streak.
Mainoo’s Napoli transfer was closing in
In the month leading up to Amorim’s sacking and the opening few days of the transfer window, the noise in United was that Mainoo was unequivocally not allowed to leave the club, as they needed the midfield depth.
However, according to Fabrizio Romano, this was not quite the case internally. The Italian transfer specialist explained that talks with Napoli, Mainoo’s favoured destination, were very much advanced, and that Mainoo would have left United on loan had Amorim stayed.
“I think at the end [of the January window], Kobbie Mainoo was going to leave Manchester United if Ruben Amorim ended up staying at the club,” Romano explained.
“And I can reveal to you that Napoli were already in very advanced talks with the player. So if the player had to pick the club to go on loan in January, it was going to be Napoli. Napoli were ready, a loan deal until the end of the season, also because of the injuries of Kevin De Bruyne and Marco Zamboni.
“Napoli wanted to add the midfielder, but then Napoli had some limitations with the market. And then Michael Carrick arrived and changed the future of Kobbie Mainoo.”
Mainoo back in contention for England
Although not mentioned by Romano, a significant reason Mainoo wanted to head on loan for the remainder of the campaign was to boost his chances of making it into the England squad for the 2026 World Cup.
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With Carrick having now played Mainoo for three successive 90-minute fixtures, and the player showing himself to be still his brilliant self in the middle of the park, there is now a real chance that the 20-year-old can give Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel a push.
It is clear that Tuchel sees Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Nottingham Forest star Elliot Anderson as his favoured midfield pairing, but if Mainoo can stay fit and remain on form for the rest of the campaign, there is very little reason as to why he shouldn’t be in the squad.
The next set of international fixtures comes at the end of March, and United have six fixtures until then for Mainoo to prove his worth to Tuchel.
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