Manchester United have been told to stop contract their talks with Kobbie Mainoo in order to let the youngster focus on playing games for the club after a long stint out of the side.
Luke Thrower Trends Writer
14:07, 29 Jan 2026
Kobbie Mainoo’s future at Manchester United has been uncertain at times this season – certainly before Ruben Amorim was sacked.(Image: (Photo by Richard Martin-Roberts – CameraSport via Getty Images))
Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has urged the club to shelve contract talks with Kobbie Mainoo and to let him play more games, as he makes his return to the starting line-up under Michael Carrick. The 20-year-old’s future was in doubt during the first half of the campaign, as he struggled to regularly find a place in the team under now-former boss Ruben Amorim.
The Portuguese head coach claimed that he was vying for position with club captain Bruno Fernandes in the deeper role of a midfield two – leading to rumours surrounding a possible exit in the January transfer window.
With Amorim now gone and a place in the side restored under Carrick, Mainoo has shown his quality in his return, impressing in wins over Manchester City and Arsenal in the Premier League.
Longer term doubts remain over the academy graduate, however, who has a deal at Old Trafford until 2027, with reports stating that United are keen to open talks with the midfielder over improved terms and a longer contract.
For Saha, however, there’s belief that the focus should be put squarely on playing football. He told gambling.com: “No, no, no, I think this is like good talk for the media and his agent and all that, to him. What he has to do is score more goals, assist more, play well and progress. That’s it.
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“Whatever, like that, people talk about contracts and stuff like this, you know, it’s not good for him. He’s only a young player who, yes, maybe played for England – and has a World Cup to look forward to. He has to improve. That’s it.
“Why are they thinking about contract extension, moving away, looking at McTominay’s career or whatever? It’s wrong. Just play, just play, just play, improve every day. It’s two games, that’s not enough.
“He needs to score maybe ten goals, and then become the main man in midfield with Casemiro – and then people will give him the contract he wants. That’s it. He doesn’t need anyone else to speak about this extension, and think about this now.
“It’s just about focusing on this game. He hasn’t played for many months. He was on the bench. Now it’s time for consistency. Get 15 games under his belt, bring him to the World Cup and see how it goes.”
There will be some hope that, after a stuttering start to the season under United’s old boss, the change in regime can finally get the best out of Mainoo once again, as he has shown in the past.
On the treatment of Mainoo, Saha was asked if it was unfair – or justified. He said: “It was a bit of both because, obviously, Amorim had different plans. So on those plans, it needed a bit of a different type of player in midfield. That doesn’t mean at all that Kobbie Mainoo was not a good player.
Kobbie Mainoo has returned to the Man United side under Michael Carrick.(Image: (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images))
“It’s just that he wasn’t fitting the style of Amorim, so that’s why it’s like, okay, fair to him. He’s the manager, he decided to challenge the player and make him improve in a certain way to actually bring something else to his game. Because maybe Amorim was really fixed on that, really focused on that piece.
“I think maybe in some games he was wrong, in some others he was not. Some, as I said, we definitely needed more legs or more confidence, more, let’s say, capacity to break down the opposition. It was not the case.
“We were too slow and, now, because of a different type of game and rhythm, we managed to get Mainoo and other players in that kind of frame where those guys are playing without the need to run around like a chicken without a head.
“So it’s a different type of mentality, and every manager learns; they are still learning. Even Alex Ferguson, at his age, in his prime, was still learning some games where, okay, I made these mistakes.
“I think Amorim will see a few things that he could have done better, and a few he did really well. Michael Carrick will make mistakes as well, and Kobbie Mainoo could be less of the focal point, because he’s going to be in a team that’s working.
“The strikers play their part, the midfielders play their part, and the defenders. Like, I see Maguire and Martinez; it’s the core that needs to be very strong, not just one player. That was maybe the kind of mistake that has been made.
“You know, the kind of foundation where a team provides the challenge, and more than players provide challenges. If there were no Bruno Fernandes, or if he’s not performing, you’re dead. That was the problem for United. It’s over. The team needs to be working together, having advantage physically, mentally and technically.”
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