Ruben Amorim has made it clear he wants to keep his two best young players after Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho were both linked with moves away from Old Trafford this month.
With United in a profitability and sustainability (PSR) bind after heavy spending under former manager Erik ten Hag, Amorim knows he has to sell to buy to reshape the squad.
That has made young players like Mainoo, 19, and 20-year-old Garnacho vulnerable, as their sales would bring in the largest amount of profit to balance the books in a PSR world.
But having seen both players shine in the 2-0 win over FCSB – formerly Steaua Bucharest – in the Europa League, Amorim has said for the first time that he does not want to lose either of them.
Asked if there were difficult decisions to be made because of the need to comply with PSR, Amorim replied: “That part is true. But I want players like Kobbie and Garnacho.
“The focus is that we have to improve our academy. And you have to bring more [through]. That is something that all the clubs in England have to take advantage of. The players that come from their academies. To play, to feel the shirt, but also to sell them. So our focus is to bring more [through]. The rest, I just want to prepare with both of them for the next game.”
Whether Amorim gets his wish remains to be seen. Sources have indicated that United are in a tight spot with PSR and may still need to sacrifice one of them, especially as new contract talks with Mainoo, whose current deal expires in the summer of 2027, have reportedly stalled.
Mainoo, though, enjoyed playing in a more advanced role for United in Bucharest, scoring one and assisting the other in a comfortable away win.
“I don’t think it is about his contract,” Amorim said when asked about his impressive display. “Everybody in England sees him as a very good player.
“He played in the European Championship final. I think it is more the position. He was not comfortable. Before, he was always playing. Now, he sometimes plays and sometimes not, he wasn’t comfortable, but maybe it is something to do with that.
“But I think the key point is the position. It is different for him. It demands a lot from him. [On Thursday], in that position, I feel that he was more happy to play. Simple as that.
“I don’t look at the movements, the way he touched the ball. I felt it just watching him. He was so happy on the pitch. That is important for me because if they are happy, they play better. I think he can change position.”
Mainoo’s role change hints at brighter future under Amorim
Kobbie Mainoo is not the first young player to suffer a dip in form after a blistering start to their career. It is one of the perils of relying on young players who are still growing up as people, let alone as a player at a club with the pressure of Manchester United.
When you combine that with injuries, the distractions that come with new-found fame and the unsettling impact of stalled contract talks, you begin to appreciate why playing football is not as simple as it should be.
On top of that, Mainoo has also been the focal point of speculation that the club who have nurtured, developed and cared for him, since he was a child, are contemplating selling him because they need the profits from a home-grown sale to comply with PSR. Whatever the desired intentions of PSR, turning young players into commodities to be traded to bankroll clubs in their own recruitment is one of the more regrettable side effects.
At just 19, you can see why this has been a bumpy period of development for a player who bolted into England’s European Championship squad last summer after one season of regular first-team football.
Yet, in Ruben Amorim, Mainoo has a manager who understands and appreciates young players. In truth, he had the same in Erik ten Hag too, who made his name at Ajax, a club whose mission statement is to produce elite-level talent from its academy.
What is fascinating is that Amorim, after two months in charge, has already identified that a position change could help bring out the best in the teenager.
Mainoo has played for club and country as a deep lying midfield player. That is where he made his name, but it may well not be where his future lies.
Good players, we are always told, can play anywhere. In truth, that is a rather glib take in a modern world where systems and tactics are so planned, so detailed and so constrained. Players are, if anything, too over-coached and micro-managed these days to truly express themselves.
Yet, when asked to reflect on Mainoo’s performance in a more advanced role against FCSB, there was a phrase used by Amorim that leapt out. He was “more happy to play” in a less restrictive, more attacking role. It delivered his first goal of the season and an assist too. This was a young man playing with freedom; a footballer playing the game with a clear head. Focusing on what he could do, rather than constantly worrying how to stop others doing so.
As the heat maps above show, Mainoo was far more involved across the park against FCSB, in comparison to the 3-1 home defeat by Brighton in which United were over-run in midfield. Mainoo could not influence the game in a deep-lying role but on Thursday he stamped his authority on it.
As well as one assist and one goal, Mainoo won 100 per cent of his tackles, completed 100 per cent of crosses and his passing accuracy was a healthy 90.7 per cent.
May be problematic for England
It was a really encouraging display that hints at a different sort of player being unleashed under Amorim. Mainoo looked rejuvenated in his new position and is likely to stay there judging by his manager’s comments after the game.
The problem from an England perspective, though, is that they are already well-stocked on players who can excel in that position.
Mainoo was catapulted into the England team precisely because they do not have many deep-lying playmakers; a midfield pivot in front of the defence. If Mainoo is no longer going to play there for United, it will be almost impossible for Thomas Tuchel to use such a young player in a completely different role at international level.
For now, though, United will just be pleased to see a confident young man on the pitch again. These are still the formative years of Mainoo’s career and if Amorim sees his best position higher up the pitch, it is his judgmnt that is all that matters.
