Ruben Amorim opens door for Kobbie Mainoo to leave Man United

This season, Mainoo has struggled to establish himself at United. He has made 10 Premier League appearances but played only 180 minutes and has yet to start a league match. The Portuguese coach has preferred a midfield pivot of Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, with Manuel Ugarte also used at times.

With his limited game time, rumours have emerged that Mainoo could leave in the January transfer window to push for a place in the national team. Amorim addressed the situation, saying he would be “really pleased” if the midfielder approached him about a potential loan move.

The 40-year-old coach said: “If Kobbie comes to me and talks to me, I will talk to him. I’m not going to say what I’m going to say to Kobbie, but I will be really pleased if Kobbie comes to talk to me about that. I just want my players happy, and I understand that every individual has their goals.”

Regarding Mainoo’s chances of starting in midfield, Amorim explained that difficult choices have to be made. There are at least four midfielders competing for two positions, meaning two players must stay on the bench. 

At the moment, Mainoo is competing in Bruno Fernandes’ role, but Amorim admitted it is hard to leave Bruno out of the team. However, he believes Mainoo can also play in Casemiro’s holding midfield position, although that would take time to adapt and requires more minutes.

Amorim also responded to Paul Scholes’ claim that he “doesn’t get the club.” He said: “No, it’s not winning – not winning is the issue. The problem is that as a manager I’m not doing good enough, and that is a fact. That is the only problem.

“As manager of Manchester United, we are underachieving. We should have more points, especially this season. So I take that, naturally. Sometimes they don’t have all the information, and they see Manchester United with the standards they lived with here – always winning. So it’s hard for them to see their club in this situation.”

Manchester United are currently 8th in the Premier League with 25 points. If Amorim’s side win their next match, they could move up to fifth place after Crystal Palace lost to Manchester City earlier today. United will face Bournemouth at 3am (GMT+7) tomorrow, in the final match of gameweek 16.