It\u2019s been claimed that after the 19-year-old England international was deemed one of three \u2018un-sellable\u2019 players in the summer transfer window, the bigwigs at Old Trafford will listen to offers for him alongside team-mates Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund. Mainoo made his senior debut in January 2023, one month before signing a four-and-a-half-year contract which includes the option to remain at his boyhood club until 2028.<\/p>\n
Now there\u2019s a more lucrative deal on the table, but it\u2019s reportedly left Mainoo unhappy. There are suggestions that the Stockport sensation has demanded a massive \u00a3200,000 per week, a wage which would put him in the same ball park of Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt and \u00a382million flop Antony.<\/p>\n
Of course, we can debate whether Mainoo is deserving of such money after just two years in the first-team, but selling him, really?<\/p>\n
Sir Jim Ratcliffe didn\u2019t exactly have bags of goodwill when he walked through the door at Old Trafford, having struck a deal with the Glazers, but any backing he\u2019s had from the majority of supporters, particular match-going fans, has been eroded. \u00a366 tickets, no concessions, cancelling the office Christmas party and many more ruthless cuts behind the scenes have led to backlash towards the Failsworth-born billionaire \u2013 with the Glazers still lurking in the shadows, obviously.<\/p>\n
Selling Mainoo, a local, gifted footballer picked up at the age of nine, would go against United\u2019s very foundation. Don\u2019t forget, this time last year there was feverish clamour to get him into the England squad, and he ended up starting the final of Euro 2024 after Gareth Southgate, supposedly someone who didn\u2019t give new players a chance in his final two tournaments, recognised his talents.<\/p>\n
That last-minute strike against Wolves, his goal in the FA Cup final, even that performance on Sunday at Anfield are all a glimmer and what\u2019s to come. At 19, Mainoo could well define United\u2019s midfield for the next two decades. But if Ratcliffe and Co. are seriously willing to let clubs have a sniff, he\u2019ll end up at the heart of someone else\u2019s team.<\/p>\n
Take Cole Palmer, we collectively baulked at the \u00a342.5million transfer fee that Chelsea paid Manchester City to sign him in 2023. Now look where we are. He\u2019s arguably the best player in the Premier League behind Mo Salah, all while City have stumbled into crisis.<\/p>\n
Even with far less evidence, Chelsea knew Palmer\u2019s potential and it\u2019s no surprise to see them sniffing around Mainoo. With United in desperate need of cash to fund Ruben Amorim\u2019s rebuild, how much is too much for the Red Devils to turn down?<\/p>\n
City have always seen Mainoo as the one that got away, so could Pep Guardiola try to entice him to the Etihad? Imagine the fury at watching him link-up with fellow Stopfordian Phil Foden.<\/p>\n
Mainoo, in all fairness, hasn\u2019t been at his best this season \u2013 looking leggy and overworked after his rapid rise to fame \u2013 but unlike in the case of another academy graduate, Marcus Rashford, fans would feel like they\u2019re being robbed of his most exciting years.<\/p>\n
Players like Mainoo walking out at Old Trafford aren\u2019t just of benefit to the first-team, they fill the entire club with a huge sense of accomplishment. Think of how many coaches, cooks and cleaners have gone into giving him the platform to wear the famous United badge.<\/p>\n
His sale in order to balance books might make cold, hard business sense, but the anger around the already crumbling Old Trafford would be next-level. Of course, the player would could put his foot down and remain on his current terms, but he, rightly, believes that he\u2019s worth more than his current salary which is rumoured to be a modest \u00a320,000-a-week.<\/p>\n
For the sake of Ratcliffe\u2019s already-tainted legacy at United, he simply can\u2019t sell Mainoo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yes, the overused phrase of the decade. But maybe that’s what we should all be saying amid the sugge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":27882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football"],"yoast_head":"\n