Chelsea are reportedly leading the race sign Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo if he does not extend his contract at Old Trafford.
Mainoo, 19, signed a four-year contract in 2023, shortly before making his Premier League debut, and is claimed to be the lowest-paid player in the senior team on £20,000-a-week.
In spite of UnitedEager to tie him down to an extension and recognize the midfielder as a key first-team player, progress in negotiations over new terms has proved slow and there are now growing concerns over Maino’s long-term future at United.
The Daily Mail state Chelsea they positioned themselves at the front of the queue for Maino’s signature, seeing the teenager as a star in the making.
It was previously claimed that Mainoo was part of a small group of players considered ‘untouchable’ by United, although David Ornstein of The Athletic recently argued that this was not the case due to the sheer profit that could be made from selling an academy graduate like Mainoo.
“If the departure is going to happen [for Marcus Rashford]especially a sale, maybe it’s more likely in the summer, but it would be a net gain, something we hear so much about, because he’s a graduate,” Ornstein said. “The same way Kobbie Mainoo could be, he’s out of contract in 2027. – no news about a new contract.
“Alejandro Garnacho also, I don’t think anyone in that group is excluded. Who is, is someone like Leny Yor, like Amado Diallo – I think they’re untouchable.”
Crucially, while Maino’s contract runs until 2027, United have the option to extend it by a further 12 months, leaving them under very little immediate pressure to make a decision on the England international’s future.
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