Kobbie Mainoo has been handed a blow with his chances of joining Napoli on loan in January amid his lack of game time at Manchester United.
Kobbie Mainoo has had a tough start to the season with Manchester United, as he does not appear to be central to Rúben Amorim’s plans.
United have continued with their 3-4-2-1 setup, which has forced Mainoo to compete directly with captain Bruno Fernandes for minutes.
As a result, the 20-year-old has played only 138 minutes across seven Premier League matches and is still waiting for his first league start, having only played 90 minutes once, in a Carabao Cup loss against Grimsby Town.
With the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, those around Mainoo believe he needs regular game time immediately if he is to push his way into Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, with the player having requested to leave on loan multiple times this season to secure those minutes.
Mainoo’s Napoli chances are dwindling
In the final week of the summer transfer window, when mainoo initially handed in his requests to leave on loan, there was plenty of interest from within England. However, the side that took it the furthest was Serie A giants Napoli.
According to various reports, Napoli was also Mainoo’s favoured destination due to not being a Premier League side and that his former teammates, Rasmus Højlund and Scott McTominay, were thriving there. Further, it was claimed earlier this month that Napoli and Mainoo’s representatives remain in contact.
However, Italian transfer expert Gianluca di Marzio has dealt a blow to Mainoo’s chances of joining Napoli on loan. The journalist has explained that although the 20-year-old remains an option for the Serie A title holders, their priority is a different type of midfielder.
“Mainoo to Napoli is a possibility because they talked about him in the summer, and now Napoli need to go into the market because they have injuries in the midfield,” Di Marzio told AceOdds. “[André-Frank] Anguissa goes to AFCON as well, so they need to cover that area.
“They’re probably going to look to have a player with different skills from Kobbie Mainoo. A big physical player.
“He’s on the list, but they want a profile like [Tottenham’s Pape] Sarr. Mainoo is a possibility, though, and it’s better he’s on their list.”
December minutes will be telling with Mainoo
It’s hard to believe that Mainoo is United’s third-choice midfielder considreing his lack of minutes, but with the side averaging three fixtrues a month for most of this season so far, there is simply no opportunity for Amorim to experiement with Mainoo while he’s desperate for wins.
However, with Bryan Mbeumo and Amad both set ot depart for AFCON in mid-December and the club having six fixures in the month, marking the return of midweek fixtures, there is scope for the talented midfielder to play.
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There is a gaping hole on the right hand side of United’s front line when AFCON is on, and this could be fulled by Fernandes, leaving the deeper midfield slot open for Mainoo to play.
Alternatively, Amorim could choose to rotate Fernadnes out of the side for a few of the midweek games to keep the Portugese captain fresh, again allowing space for Mainoo to start.
However, if Amorim continues to keep Mainoo on the bench despite the muliplte opportuniries for him toplay, this would be a very telling sign that the player would have almost no long-term future under the head coach.
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