‘We are short’ – Ruben Amorim makes desperate Kobbie Mainoo plea

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim saved his job this season by turning a tide of embarrassing results around, but with the Red Devils still in seventh place, there is still a lot of work for the Portuguese manager to do before he can say he has turned things around at Old Trafford.

After major summer transfer investment and an overhaul of the attack with Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha, and Bryan Mbeumo coming in, Man United expect to be among the top four contenders for Champions League football in the near future.

Amorim has improved Man United, but fans want to see more, especially since he is still making decisions that are holding the team back, namely leaving 2023/24 season hero and young England international gem Kobbie Mainoo.

The center midfielder should easily be starting on merit, and the fact that he is not has led to major transfer speculation heading into the January 2026 window with the likes of reigning Serie A champions Napoli, who have already turned around the careers of two former Man United players, circling in for Mainoo.

At the Manchester United press conference before the massive Boxing Day fixture against Newcastle United, Ruben Amorim changed his tune a bit about Kobbie Mainoo and seemed to make a plea for him to be patient and stay, admitting that the Man United midfield would not be able to sustain his loss in the January transfer period.

Amorim said of Mainoo, “Kobbie Mainoo will be the future of Manchester United. He just needs to wait for his chance and everything can change in football in 2 days. If we are not getting someone, it’s hard to let him leave. We are short… with something that can happen here”.

Clearly, Manchester United do not have much quality in midfield. Beyond Bruno Fernandes, there is not a single star there, and Casemiro has remained very important to them with Mainoo still bafflingly not a key starter. Manuel Ugarte and Mason Mount have been huge transfer busts, the former even more than the latter.

Since Manchester United’s top transfer targets in midfield – Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba, and Elliot Anderson – are almost certainly not going to be available now in January, the best thing for Man United to do is keep Mainoo. And that means, for Amorim, playing him, not just saying he will be the future.