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Ruben Amorim explains Kobbie Mainoo's lack of minutes at Man Utd
Martin Macdonald
- Updated: 1 Nov 2025 11:49 GMT
- 4 min read
Nieuws
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has explained why Kobbie Mainoo isn't receiving regular first-team minutes this season.
After signing his first professional contract with Man Utd in 2022, it wasn't long before Mainoo started training with the senior side at Carrington.
Erik ten Hag awarded him his debut in January of 2023 in a FA Cup fixture against Charlton which the Red Devils won 3-0. The next month, he made his Premier League debut against Leicester.
As Mainoo gained more minutes his reputation grew and many fans considered him to be the future of the Man Utd midfield. He even went on to make 10 appearances for England and made his competitive debut for the Three Lions in the first match of Euro 2024.
However, his career has stagnated since Amorim took over as it seems Mainoo is currently fourth in the central midfield pecking order behind Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte.
After nine Premier League matches in 2025/26, he has accumulated just 138 minutes on the pitch.
He was given a start in United's League Cup fixture against Grimsby, but that proved to be a thoroughly embarrassing night for the club as they were eliminated by the League Two outfit.
Amorim says that Man Utd's lack of European football this season means he can't rotate his squad more to give the likes of Mainoo more playing time.
"We need to go to Europe because of everything," he told reporters.
"Our club needs to be in Europe, it’s hard to have a very, very good squad. Imagine for me to have Mainoo with that (many) minutes that he’s playing, he needs more games for me to make a rotation because, with one game (a week), it’s really hard.
"I have to take one of the guys that is playing to put another. When you have more games, you can divide, you can manage the group in a different way.
"We are trying to use the time that we have to train to be a better team, we need to be prepared in the future to have European games. But the target doesn’t change. We have to go to Europe. To be in the top four is really hard for our moment, but we never know, we just need to focus on winning the next one."
Mainoo to leave Man Utd?
Mainoo was desperate to leave United on loan before the end of the transfer window as he wants enough playing time to secure a place in the England squad for the 2026 World Cup.
He was linked with Napoli and continues to be linked with the Italian side ahead of the January transfer window.
It was recently reported that rivals Man City were actually looking at the United youngster.
This has been confirmed by TEAMtalk, who state that Man City are one of the contenders to land Mainoo during the winter transfer window as Pep Guardiola eyes an ambitious mid-season raid.
The eight-time Premier League champions already have a stacked midfield roster that includes the likes of Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders, Nico Gonzalez and Mateo Kovacic, however Mainoo has now been identified as a possible target.
Brentford, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are also reportedly keeping close tabs on Mainoo’s situation at Old Trafford ahead of a potential bid next year. Meanwhile, FootballTransfers understands that Brighton & Hove Albion were among the teams interested in the Englishman this summer.
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