One Man United player will be plotting quick January transfer after ‘already done’ reveal
Sir Jim Ratcliffe may have pushed a certain Man United player out of the door with his latest view on Ruben Amorim’s future as manager.
Man United have endured a mixed start to the season under Ruben Amorim, with the club currently sitting 10th in the Premier League following a recent win against Sunderland.
Amorim met with Man United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe last month to discuss his future, and he has been given a reprieve as head-coach over the last few weeks despite increasing rumours around his future.
Ratcliffe has publicly backed Amorim in the face of those concerns, while Football Insider recently revealed that Amorim is unlikely to quit as Man United boss as he believes he can lead the club to success.
Amorim’s system and tactics have been questioned, and one player that seems unlikely to have a long-term future at Old Trafford as long as he is in charge could well be on their way out soon after Ratcliffe’s new reveal around how long the head-coach could be given to prove he is the right man for the job.
Kobbie Mainoo now very likely to leave in January with Ratcliffe backing Amorim for another ‘three years’
Kobbie Mainoo’s future was up in the air throughout the summer window, and he looked set to depart Man United near the deadline after not playing a single minute of their first two Premier League games of the season.
Mainoo requested to leave Man United on loan before the deadline in early September, but it always seemed unclear as to whether the Red Devils would allow him to leave, with Ruben Amorim insisting that he wanted him to stay and “fight for his place” in the team.
The England midfielder did not make a move away from Old Trafford, and has continued to struggle for minutes with just one start all term up to now, with Football Insider revealing last month that Man United are willing to let Mainoo leave in January if they find a midfield replacement.
It is clear that Amorim simply doesn’t fancy Mainoo as an option from the off, which is no good for his career, but the head-coach looks set to stay at the club for the long-term after Ratcliffe backed him once again in an new interview with The Business podcast.
Ratcliffe insisted that Amorim will have time to turn things around, saying: “Ruben needs to demonstrate he is a great coach over three years. That is where I would be [on giving him that amount of time]. Three years. Because football is not overnight.
“It’s three years. You also look at [Mikel] Arteta at Arsenal. He had a miserable time over the first couple of years. We have to be patient. We have a long-term plan. It isn’t a light switch.
“You can’t run a club like Manchester United on knee-jerk reactions to some journalist who goes off on one every week.”
It certainly looks as if Amorim will be given ample time to succeed at Old Trafford, which is bad news for Mainoo’s future at the club, and he is surely definitely set to leave in January with his boss set to stay.
What Ruben Amorim has said about Mainoo since the window closed
Amorim has not given Mainoo enough chances to make a case to play regularly under his watch, with the England man handed only eight Premier League starts in 2025 so far.
His talent is obvious after a rapid rise to stardom at both club and international level in 2024, and Amorim has insisted that the 20-year-old does have what it takes to play more but needs to play better.
Ahead of their game against Man City last month, the Portuguese boss said: “I didn’t have a conversation with him before the window closed because I didn’t want Kobbie Mainoo thinking that I was having a conversation with him just to hold on to him. I did it this week.
“I believe in him a lot. He is a top player. But some of you think that Kobbie Mainoo is already done [a complete player].
“I think he can do so much better. For some guys [talent] is enough, but for him it is not. Maybe it’s not fair, but I think I’m helping Kobbie and that’s it.”
Amorim clearly thinks he is helping Mainoo, but it seems he has only driven him further away from the club with a January move firmly in the pipeline.
Napoli are believed to be Mainoo’s first-choice club if he chooses to leave in the new year, and if the good fortunes of Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund weren’t enough to convince him, then Ratcliffe’s latest backing of Amorim will surely make him want to move as soon as possible.