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Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has stressed his desire to keep hold of midfielder Kobi Mainu in a surprise move. interest From Chelsea.
With contract negotiations expected to begin, Chelsea were named shock suitors for Maino earlier this week. The latest reports suggest that the Blues will be open to a January transfer, as well United value the 19-year-old at around £70m.
United’s determination to avoid sanctions for breaches of profit and sustainability rules means no player is untouchable, while Maino’s status as an academy graduate whose sale would generate a net profit has fueled talk of a shock exit from Old Trafford.
As for Amorim, he wants to hold on to Maino, whose contract runs until 2027 and includes a one-year extension clause.
Asked directly about Mainu at his recent press conference, Amorim told reporters: “Yes, my players are always my favorites. So I really love my players, I want to keep my players, especially talented players.
“It’s a special moment in this club, it’s a difficult moment, I’m really happy with Cobi, he’s improving and also with Garna (Alejandro Garnacho).
“I think the first thing is that I don’t remember saying clearly that I want new players. What I said is sometimes the profile of this system is different and the players came here with a different idea of how to play. I don’t remember. So obviously I want new players.
“What I said is that when we target players we need to improve recruitment, we need to make sure they can cope with the demand, sometimes you have to bet a bit. And what I also said is that we need to improve our The academy has to be improved, to bring in young kids who feel the club right and with the rules we can do some business and have money to invest in the team.
“Our idea is always to keep the best players and the players we create for this club, but we know the state the club is in now. We’ll see. But I’m very happy. I really like the players, especially the academy boys.”
crucially, combined Mainu has no active desire to sell and is keen to end speculation with a new contract. The teenager currently earns around £20,000 per week and it was recently claimed that United’s failure to meet his £200,000-a-week demand left him frustrated..
