Both players are looking to leave in January due to concerns about game time
Manchester United are expected to hold talks with Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee in the coming weeks due to uncertainty over their roles under head coach Ruben Amorim.
Both players have grown frustrated with their lack of playing time since Amorim’s arrival and are seeking assurances about their futures before the January transfer window, according to ESPN.
Mainoo has made five appearances from the bench in the Premier League this season but is yet to start. His only starting role was in the ill-fated game against Grimsby in the League Cup.
The 20-year-old requested to leave on loan in August but it was turned down by the club. United view him as an important long-term asset and Amorim insisted he was very much in his plans.
In September, United’s manager said: “I didn’t have a conversation with [Mainoo] before the [transfer] window closed. I did this week.
“Because I don’t want Kobbie thinking that I was having any conversation with him just to hold on to him. I don’t want that feeling.
“I believe a lot in Kobbie, but some of you think that Kobbie Mainoo is already done [the finished article]. I think he can do so much better, he can improve a lot.”
“I think for some guys [their talent] is enough, but for him it is not enough. Maybe it’s not fair, but I think I’m helping Kobbie Mainoo, and that’s it. He will have opportunities like the other guys.”
Zirkzee, meanwhile, has made only four appearances this season, all off the bench.
The concern for both players is their prospects of playing for their national teams in next year’s World Cup. Mainoo played for England in Euro 2024 but has since been dropped due to lack of game time at the club level.
Zirkzee has so far had only a limited role in the Netherlands squad, but he has now also been dropped entirely.
Any departures in January would require United’s approval but this is unlikely to happen, with Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo both leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations in December and January.
