Chelsea are reportedly leading the race Sign Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo if he does not renew his contract at Old Trafford.
Mainoo, 19, signed a four-year contract in 2023, shortly before making his Premier League debut, and is considered the lowest-paid player in the senior team, with a salary of £20,000 a week.
Despite United’s desire to tie him down to a contract extension and recognize the midfielder as a key first-team player, progress in negotiating new terms proved slow and there are now growing concerns about Mainoo’s long-term future at United.
The Daily Mail Chelsea State have moved to the front of the queue to sign Mainoo and see the teenager as a future star.
It was previously claimed that Mainoo was among a small group of players United viewed as “untouchable”, despite David Ornstein of The athlete 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 there is an exit [for Marcus Rashford]“A sale in particular may be more likely in the summer, but it would represent a pure gain, something we hear about so often because he was an academy graduate,” Ornstein said. “Just like Kobbie Mainoo, his contract expires in 2027 – no news on a new contract.
“Alejandro Garnacho too, I don’t think anyone in this group is off the table. Who is someone like Leny Yoro, like Amad Diallo – I think they are untouchable.”
Crucially, while Mainoo’s contract runs until 2027, United have the option to extend it for a further 12 months, so they have very little immediate pressure to make a decision on the England international’s future.