United will be forced to lose key player in January, it’s a blessing in disguise – opinion

Manchester United have a Kobbie Mainoo-shaped problem and it’s worsening every day. Alarm bells are ringing, amber lights are flashing, needles are tipping into the red, smoke is coming out of the console; it’s only a matter of time before the sprinklers kick in and short circuit the motherboard. Suddenly the unthinkable has to be thought, that objectively the most exciting Carrington graduate of a generation really does appear to be on his way out of the club. Would you like a glass of water? Is it any wonder? And it’s hard to blame him – a little over a year after being the first name on Erik ten Hag’s generally ill-fated team sheet, he has become a bit part player under Ruben Amorim. He has gone from starting England’s Euro 2024 final to possibly not even travelling to the World Cup in 2026. Much has already been said about the madness of losing Mainoo, and thankfully we seem to have moved on from the United hierarchy seeing the sale of the Stockport lad as a simple cash grab. The momentum now seems to be coming from the player’s side, mired in disbelief and frustration, and despite Amorim’s hostage-taker insistence that nobody leaves in January it feels like in this case something has to give. Rock and a hard place It’s impossible to read the blank corporate expression Manchester United PLC wears while calling the shots at the 20-time league champions, but if we believe that the football people are in charge it’s almost possible to feel something approaching sympathy. Backing Amorim to the hilt while he fails to back Mainoo in the slightest leaves the club in a difficult position. They surely can’t sack a coach for persevering with a Casemiro/Fernandes midfield axis, especially after it has yielded three wins in four games. The coach calls the shots on the pitch, and interfering with that sets a very dangerous precedent indeed. At least when United’s form was floundering there was a potential way out, however unpalatable. Take the plunge So with the duty to prioritise the present over a rich history and hypothetical future, United must be pragmatic in the here and now. And that means sanctioning, maybe even prioritising, Mainoo’s January exit – on loan. A straight loan, the straightest loan the ever was, no option or obligation to buy, the simplest of loans. The club are good at loans; they’ve had plenty of practice, even though most have been a concession to their ludicrous wage bill, but never has the smallprint been more important. The bitter truth is that Mainoo looks unlikely to get serious gametime at United at all this season – even the impending AFCON exodus will do little to help that – so the club must act to hand him as many minutes as possible. That they must come in another club’s colours is a necessary evil, but blocking them entirely will damage the player and, his development and doubtless his relationship with the Red Devils. Interesting futures A full-throttle Mainoo is a sight to behold, and Amorim’s reluctance to use the player remains one of the biggest question marks hovering over the Portuguese’s head, but managers across Europe would be salivating at the chance to work with the 20-year-old, even if only for six months. Six months to recapture match sharpness, to play himself back into the England squad in time to fly to North America then straight back to Manchester. The scene that awaits him could be unrecognisable from the one which currently has him marginalised. Casemiro may be in a rich vein of form right now but is out of contract in the summer and should only be retained on a much-reduced wage with a much-reduced role. Meanwhile Fernandes will be another year older, another year closer to calling time on an illustrious Old Trafford career with Saudi Pro League interest unlikely to have lessened. Unlikely hero If he’s still in post – and the assumption for now is that he will be – the odds on Amorim starting next season with an entirely new midfield pairing are not particularly long. Allowing Mainoo to develop and grow, showing faith in his natural talent and belief in his character, could provide half of a readymade solution to a new-look engine room, leaving United clear to breach nine figures if necessary to secure him a world class partner. The player is believed to be closing on a winter loan move to Napoli, the great resuscitator of wasted United talent, and failing a dramatic and immediate change of heart from Amorim the club should embrace this opportunity. With the walls closing in and the spectre of a forced permanent sale and a decade of regret looming, Antonio Conte could be the unlikely saviour United need. Featured image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried. He cut his teeth working in print media for local newspapers and entered football journalism covering the grassroots game for the Non-League Paper. Here he achieved a career high, interviewing United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to get his views on the lower echelons of the football pyramid. To kill time during international breaks Joe writes album reviews and has strong views on post punk for Plus One Magazine.