Manchester United would reportedly be prepared to use Kobbie Mainoo as a makeweight in a proposal to sign Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde.
A fresh report coming out of Spain (via Defensa Central) claims the Red Devils have put forth an offer of Mainoo plus £43.6 million to try and land one of Xabi Alonso’s most trusted lieutenants in 2026.
Why Valverde to United is highly unlikely
Having signed an extension in 2023, Valverde, who Carlo Ancelotti once hailed as ‘irreplaceable’, is tied to the Santiago Bernabeu until June 2029.
The Uruguayan has, however, never given any indication that he’d be willing to depart Madrid. In fact, he even went as far as saying in the summer: “I will never leave Real Madrid. If they want me out, they [will] have to kill me.”
Alas, any prospect of such a deal being completed is incredibly low, and whilst United fans wouldn’t turn down the opportunity of welcoming a world-class talent like Valverde to Ruben Amorim’s ranks, they also don’t want to see the back of Mainoo under any circumstances.
Mainoo still mulling over loan move after failed summer attempt
There is a growing possibility that Mainoo will push to leave Old Trafford in the winter transfer window, though, having not been utilised nearly enough as he’d have hoped heading into the campaign.
So far this season, Mainoo has played a total of just 73 minutes in the first five Premier League fixtures. He has yet to start in the league and was an unused substitute for the opening two outings.
In the closing stages of Saturday’s 2-1 win over Chelsea, the 20-year-old entered the fray in the 87th minute in place of Bruno Fernandes. Amorim previously claimed Mainoo is indeed competing with his skipper for a starting spot, which all but sets in stone that he will continue playing a heavily reduced role throughout the term.
As such, you couldn’t really blame the youngster if he were to ask for a January exit – especially when considering the World Cup 2026 is on the horizon and an impressive run of form for Mainoo may result in him being called up by Thomas Tuchel to feature at the tournament, like he did for England at Euro 2024.
