The England midfielder's future at Old Trafford really should be secure, but the same cannot be said for his Argentine team-mate
According to , Manchester United are prepared to listen to any "serious offer" for every single member of Ruben Amorim's current squad. Part-owners INEOS have taken that stance because of the Premier League's strict Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which only permit maximum losses of £105 million ($129m) over a three-year period.
United have lost £313m ($385m) before tax over the last three years, but the 2021-22 season accounts for £150m ($185m) of that total, which will not be included in the next PSR assessment – per . As such, the club is confident about balancing the books in the short-term, but there is now a push for a more sustainable transfer model that will ensure they avoid the threat of points deductions for the foreseeable future.
All of this means that no one is untouchable anymore. That includes academy graduates like Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, who would both generate pure profit for the club if they were transferred.
In the case of Mainoo, any sale would surely provoke a revolt from United fans. He's been the one bright spark amid one of the most miserable periods in the club's entire history. But Garnacho has lost his status a homegrown hero in recent months, and will need to make significant changes in order to preserve his career at Old Trafford.
Getty Images SportRuthless Ratcliffe
It should be noted that United are not trying to sell Mainoo or Garnacho. But Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been ruthless since acquiring a minority stake in the club last January and taking control of football operations, implementing a host of cost-cutting measures.
"We have to make some difficult and unpopular decisions," Ratcliffe told the fanzine last month. "If you shy away from the difficult decisions, then nothing much is going to change." Many of those decisions have already riled supporters, not least a ticket price hike to £66-per-game with no concessions for pensioners or children.
The INEOS chairman is a lifelong United fan himself, but he is, first and foremost, a businessman. Ratcliffe's main priority is to stop the club losing money, which also means a more thoughtful approach to squad building. Certain players were considered unsellable under Erik ten Hag, who also blew a fortune on a host of flop signings. Amorim, who was brought in to replace the Dutchman as head coach in November, will not be afforded those privileges.
United are now in a position where they must sell before they can buy any more new players, with claiming that not even summer additions Leny Yoro, Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt, Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee are off limits. In this cutthroat environment there are no guarantees, but the players can still protect themselves to a degree by delivering consistently strong performances.
AdvertisementGettyMainoo's importance
Mainoo is the only United player who can honestly say he has done that over the past 18 months. At just 19 years of age, he's already an accomplished ball carrier who invites and evades pressure brilliantly, keeping a cool head even in the tightest areas of the pitch.
Midfield has been a problem position for United, with the ageing legs of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen no longer able to keep up with the intensity of Premier League football, and Mainoo has been vital in giving the team a semblance of control. He always drops deep to get the ball and looks to pass through the lines, boasting the agility and awareness to change direction quickly under pressure.
Physically, there is still a lot of maturing for Mainoo to do, especially now he's operating in Amorim's exhausting 3-4-3 system. He reads the game well, but is prone to fatigue and often comes off second best in duels, both in the air and on the ground. However, with time and guidance, Mainoo will improve in those areas; it's easy to forget he's only mid-way through his second season at senior level.
It helps that he is now complemented by Ugarte, who is a master of winning back possession and seems to never run out of energy. They worked particularly well together in last weekend's hugely encouraging 2-2 draw at Liverpool, largely getting the better of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones.
That display should serve as a springboard for United and Mainoo to bigger things. The path forward is much clearer now that Amorim appears to have settled on his best XI, with Mainoo serving as the main link between defence and attack.
Getty Images SportDon't mess with the United faithful
Despite his status as United's most promising, and arguably most important player, there have been no developments on a potential new contract for Mainoo since Ten Hag confirmed that talks were imminent back in September. As it stands, Mainoo is reportedly pocketing just £20,000-per-week in wages on a contract until 2027, with the option of an extra year.
states that Mainoo's representatives are pushing for fresh terms that would see his pay packet rise to £200,000-per-week, which would be the fifth-highest in the squad behind Casemiro, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount. The pre-INEOS regime would have probably bowed to those demands without much resistance, but nothing is certain on Ratcliffe's watch.
That's why Mainoo is said to have emerged as a target for Chelsea, who are closely monitoring the situation. It might still seem unthinkable to the United faithful, but there is a real possibility Mainoo could leave. If any club is capable of tabling an offer attractive enough to convince INEOS to green-light a sale, it's Chelsea.
It would be a very foolish decision, though. Ratcliffe is messing with a fanbase that has persistently protested against the Glazer family, the club's much-maligned majority owners, and Mainoo's exit could lead to a more extreme uprising. If it's a choice between a PSR-related points deduction and keeping Mainoo, it's safe to say most supporters would pick the latter without hesitation; he's a beloved homegrown hero who should be protected, but instead he's being treated as a disposable asset.
Getty Images SportInfuriating Garnacho
There was a time when Garnacho also fell into the 'homegrown hero' bracket. He graduated from the United academy in 2022, two years after being snapped up from Atletico Madrid, and quickly made his mark with the first team.
The Argentine forward scored his first goal for the club in a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad in the Europa League on November 3, 2022, racing onto a pass from Cristiano Ronaldo before dispatching the ball confidently into the top corner. It was a dream moment for the then-18-year-old, scoring the winner on a continental stage after being assisted by his idol.
Ten days later, Garnacho opened his Premier League account, producing a perfect first-time finish to beat Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno and give United a vital 2-1 win at Craven Cottage right at the death. There soon became an expectation that when Garnacho got on the ball, something great would happen, and there have been plenty of other spectacular strikes for the highlight real, not least a Puskas Award-winning bicycle kick in United's 3-0 win at Everton last season.
Now Garnacho is up to 23 goals in 115 games for the Red Devils; a respectable total considering he's still only 20. But he has just three to his name in the Premier League so far this term, and finds himself on the fringes of the action under Amorim.
Garnacho still has the capacity to make a decisive impact, but it's rare. Most of the time he picks the wrong options in the final third, displaying very little composure with his shooting or passing. He also tends to play with his head down, and runs into trouble constantly. Garnacho has only completed 11 of his 46 dribbles in the Premier League in 2024-25, giving him a pathetic success rate of 32.3 percent. He's infuriating to watch, and doesn't seem to understand what it means to be a team player.