Kobbie Mainoo’s stance on new Manchester United contract offer revealed | Football

Kobbie Mainoo is leaning towards leaving Manchester United instead of signing a new deal with the club as he hopes for a move abroad.

The 19-year-old has already racked up 60 appearances for the Red Devils in all competitions and won 10 England caps.

As he became a fixture in the first team last season and earned himself a place in the England team at Euro 2024, it appeared that he would become a pillar of the club for years to come, but that is already in doubt.

The academy product is still on a contract which is worth just £20,000-a-week, which is obviously much less than his first team colleagues earn.

Manchester United are in talks with his representatives over an improved deal, but The Guardian reports that he is leaning towards an exit.

The report states that Mainoo is not interested in a move elsewhere in the Premier League but fancies playing abroad instead.

It is not a final decision and the club will continue to try and persuade him to stay, but they are also not entirely against selling the teenager.

The midfielder is valued at around £70m and would represent pure profit in Profit and Sustainability Rules, which would significantly help the club to finance a rebuild under manager Ruben Amorim.

Of course his sale would also mean losing an extremely talented young player and one that Amorim has already said he wants to keep in his squad.

Speaking in January, Amorim said of Mainoo: ‘Our idea is always to keep the best players and the players we build for this club.

‘But we know the position the club is in at the moment. We will see.’

The likes of Victor Lindelof and Christian Eriksen are set to leave on free transfers this summer, removing their substantial wages from the books.

The Red Devils are also looking to sell the likes of Antony and Marcus Rashford on a permanent basis after both left on loan in January.

Casemiro is another player on the chopping block, with the 33-year-old earning enormous wages, although his sell-on value would be low.

Mainoo’s wage increase, if he were to sign a new deal at Old Trafford, would be vast, jumping from the current £20,000-a-week to closer to £180,000-a-week, to be in line with other first team regulars.

Amorim would like to improve a number of positions in his team this summer as he tries to build a squad to suit his 3-4-3 formation as he clearly does not have the players to do it right now.

A significant amount of his summer budget is likely to be spent on a new striker, with the current forwards Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee failing to convince.

The likes of Victor Gyokeres from Amorim’s former club Sporting, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, who is currently on loan at Galatasaray, and Crystal Palace forward Jean-Phillipe Mateta have been linked.

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