Kobbie Mainoo is set to make a fresh attempt to leave Manchester United in the January transfer window if Ruben Amorim keeps his job, according to reports.
Mainoo requested a loan move this summer – with Italian club Napoli his No.1 choice – but United were unwilling to let the 20-year-old depart.
The England international midfielder has mostly been limited to substitute appearances under United boss Amorim since his failed switch to Naples.
The Daily Mail now reports that it would be ‘surprising’ if Mainoo didn’t try to leave United when the transfer window reopens this winter if Amorim remains as head coach of the Red Devils.
Napoli were keen to sign Mainoo this summer and the player wanted to link up with Scott McTominay, Rasmus Hojlund and Kevin De Bruyne.
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The Serie A champions are expected to try again in January with Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid also in the race to land Mainoo.
Speaking in August about Mainoo’s future, Amorim said: ‘I want Kobbie to stay – and he needs to fight for his place.
‘We need Kobbie. That is not going to change. The players not playing with be disappointed but everyone will have opportunities. You have to fight in the week.’
Premier League clubs Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton also wanted to sign Mainoo on loan this summer and the same is true for Italian side Roma and French team Marseille.
‘Mainoo is a shadow of his former self’
John Obi Mikel has slammed Amorim for his treatment of Mainoo – which has left the United midfielder looking a ‘shadow of his former self’.
‘My word, what has happened to Kobbie Mainoo?’ The former Chelsea midfielder said on The Obi One Podcast. ‘What has happened to that kid?
‘I watched him when he came on the pitch [in the 3-1 defeat to Brentford on Saturday].
‘[He is] a shadow of who he was when he burst into the scene. A shadow of who he was, Kobbie Mainoo. Was at fault for the second goal or third goal.
‘He looked heavy. He looked like he doesn’t know what he’s doing, Kobbie Mainoo.
‘And when the manager doesn’t believe in you, when the manager doesn’t have the belief and trust you, that happens.’
Mainoo failed to make it off the bench in United’s first two Premier League games of the 2025-26 campaign.
He’s only been handed one start this season – in the Carabao Cup defeat to Grimsby Town – and has been substituted on in United’s other four top-flight games.