Ruben Amorim delivers fresh take on Kobbie Mainoo’s Man Utd future – ‘a lot of noise’

Ruben Amorim has given no indication that he will sanction the departures of Kobbie Mainoo or Joshua Zirkzee despite their lack of minutes at Manchester United

Ruben Amorim accepts there is a “lot of noise” surrounding some of Manchester United’s players as he maintained that Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee are “our players that need to have a good season”.

Both men are struggling for minutes at Old Trafford as Amorim seeks to find a winning formula following some heavy summer investment. Zirkzee was signed just over a year ago but the arrivals of Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha has seen him slide down the pecking order.

The same can be said for Mainoo, despite United failing to add a midfielder in the summer. Instead the academy graduate has seen Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes become Amorim’s preferred partnership in the middle of the park.

The general consensus is that such a role limits Fernandes but he continues to be picked ahead of Mainoo, who failed to even appear from the bench in the first two matches of the season. He’s yet to play a full 90 minutes in the Premier League and Amorim insists he gets their frustration.

He said: “That is normal, and I also know that in our club, everything is a lot of noise, and you have to have news, and players are not playing. They want to play. Like you said, there’s a World Cup. There are agents that listen to the players talking all the time. So, I understand that but they are our players, and we need everyone to have a good season.”

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Mainoo was a huge hit under Erik ten Hag, who handed him his debut. The midfielder went on to score in an FA Cup final win and play for England in the Euros, but his stock has fallen since Amorim took charge in Manchester. There has even been talk of Mainoo being sold, which would suit United from a PSR point of view given he is an academy player. The midfielder though is hailed as one of the club’s best homegrown talents for years.

Amorim has made it clear that he still wants to see huge improvement from the 20-year-old. “I believe a lot in Kobbie but some of you think that Kobbie Mainoo is already done. I think he can do so much better. He can improve in a lot,” he said.

Zirkzee meanwhile endured a difficult debut season at Old Trafford. He and Rasmus Hojlund couldn’t supply the goals United needed, leading to their recruitment drive in the summer. But whilst Hojlund left the Dutchman chose to remain.

The ex-Bologna frontman could now be offered a route back to Italy with Roma, who are considering a loan move come January. Hojlund has rediscovered his best form since heading back to Serie A and has impressed with Napoli, who sit level on points at the top of the table.

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