Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has stressed his desire to keep midfielder Kobbie Mainoo in the face of surprise. interest from Chelsea.
With speculation of stalled contract negotiations beginning to build, Chelsea was named as a companion suitor for Mainoo earlier this week. Recent reports suggest the Blues will be open to a move in January, with United value the 19-year-old at around £70 million.
United's determination to avoid sanctions for breaching the Profit and Sustainability Rules has seen them decide that no player is untouchable, while Mainoo's status as an academy graduate whose sale would generate a tidy profit , has fueled talk of a shock move away from Old Trafford.
As for Amorim, he wants to keep Mainoo, whose contract runs until 2027 and includes a one-year extension clause.
Asked directly about Mainoo in his recent press conference, Amorim told reporters: “Yes, my players are always my favourites. So I really love my players, I want to keep my players , especially the talented ones.
“It's a special moment in this club, it's a difficult moment, I'm very happy with Kobbie, he's improving, and also with Garna (Alejandro Garnacho).
“The first thing I think is that I don't remember clearly saying that I want new players. What I said is that sometimes the profile for this system is different and the players came here with a different idea of how to play. I don't remember I say so clearly that I want new players.
“What I said is that we need to improve recruitment when we target players, we need to be sure that they will cope with the demands, sometimes you have to take a bit of a gamble. And what I also said is that we need to improve our academy. , for bring in young kids who feel the club in the right way and with those rules we are able to do business and have money to invest in the team.
“Our idea is always to keep the best players and the players we build for this club, but we know the position the club is in at the moment. We'll see. But I'm very happy. I like the players a lot, especially the boys. from the academy”.
most importantly, united have no active desire to sell Mainoo and remain keen to end the speculation with a new contract. The teenager currently earns around £20,000 a week and it was recently claimed that United's failure to meet his £200,000-a-week demands had left him frustrated.