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Mainoo 'endorsed' t-shirt stunt as Man Utd confirm terms for January transfer
Suraj Radia
- Updated: 18 Dec 2025 17:14 GMT
- 5 min read
News
Manchester United will only consider allowing Kobbie Mainoo to leave during the transfer window on one condition, despite the midfielder’s desperation to find first-team football elsewhere.
The 20-year-old has yet to start a Premier League match this season and the speculation around him was only intensified by his brother wearing a t-shirt with the phrase ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ on it to United’s game against Bournemouth on Monday.
Current ETV
Kobbie Mainoo
M, DM (C)
Man Utd
Kobbie Mainoo
M, DM (C)
Man Utd
ETV Range
€54.8M - €67M
Despite interest from many teams such as Real Madrid and Barcelona, Ruben Amorim has insisted that Mainoo is still an important part of the squad, with United likely to block approaches for the midfielder in January, like they did in the summer.
However, Sky Sports report that United would only be willing to sell Mainoo if they receive an ‘exceptional offer’, with no desire otherwise to see him leave permanently or on loan.
There are thought to be at least ten clubs looking to take Mainoo on loan, however United do not see financial sense in sanctioning a temporary departure considering his low wages and the costs needed to find a replacement.
Teams are also not expected to meet United’s demands for a fee to permanently sign Mainoo, should they even be willing to cash in on him at all, and it may require the player to either force a move or for a big opportunity to arise before his departure is considered.
Mainoo ‘endorsed’ brother’s t-shirt stunt
The t-shirt stunt surrounding Mainoo is believed to have been endorsed by the player, according to reporter Ben Jacobs, who insisted that United would not give into his demands unless it benefitted them financially.
“My understanding is that Mainoo was speaking through his brother. He knew about the t-shirt and he endorsed the message,” Jacobs told The United Stand. “But of course the player is never going to come out and say that, so the official line is that it’s a rogue t-shirt and the player is staying silent. This notion that Mainoo isn’t a fit for Amorim and is getting buried at United is, to some extent, fuelled by the player himself.
“At the same time, he’s been a model professional, he’s training hard. Like you or me, if you put your head down for months since the summer and you’re super professional, as Mainoo has been, if you still aren’t getting the opportunities, you start to think ‘what more I can do’.
“This is why Mainoo will not ask United to leave permanently but to go out on loan and hope that the club change their position.
“But United will not do him any favours for England or send him out for minutes if they feel like it could be over with them and Mainoo. They’re going to wait and try to get the pure profit and sell him and keep him as a body in the interim.”
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