Fabrizio Romano has revealed who’s to blame at Manchester United for the delay in agreeing a new deal with Kobbie Mainoo amid links with Chelsea.
Mainoo was previously heralded as one of United’s ‘untouchable’ stars along with Alejandro Garnacho, but the club’s dire finances now mean every player has a price.
Chelsea have leapt to the front of the queue to sign Mainoo, who is said to be ‘unhappy’ with the initial terms offered by INEOS in negotiations over a new contract.
Mainoo currently earns just £20,000 per week, a drop in the ocean compared to Casemiro’s £350,000 per week wedge, and reportedly wants a salary of around £200,000 that reflects his importance to the team.
It’s claimed United would listen to offers of £100m for Mainoo but want to keep him at the club, and Romano claims that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival at the club, as well as Dan Ashworth’s brief tenure as sporting director, has led to delays in negotiations over an extension.
“They want to insist on contract negotiations with Kobbie Mainoo,” said Romano on his YouTube channel. “So after extending the contract of Amad Diallo to 2030, Man Utd will try to push also with Kobbie Mainoo.
“Amorim in his press conference said ‘we want to keep our best players, we want to keep our academy players, I’m very happy with Kobbie and how he’s developing.’
“But now for Man Utd it’s going to be time to try and reach an agreement with the player.”
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“Remember that there were changes in the Manchester United board” continued Romano. “New owners, then new directors, then Dan Ashworth leaves and now Jason Wilcox [taking the lead].
“So many changes and it means that sometimes you have to restart on some points in the conversations. But Man Utd are working on the new contract of Kobbie Mainoo.”
United boss Ruben Amorim was asked about the futures of Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho ahead of Man Utd’s clash with Arsenal on Sunday and insisted he wants to keep the promising pair at the club.
He said: “I really love my players. I want to keep my players, especially the talented ones,” he said.
“It’s a special moment in this club, it’s a hard moment, but, of course, I’m really happy with Kobbie, he’s improving, and also with Garna. Our idea is always to keep the best players and the players that we build for this club.
“We know the position that the club is in at the moment, but we will see. I’m very happy, I like our players, especially the guys from our academy.”
