Real Madrid to deliver Man Utd sting in the tail over spectacular January loan swap | OneFootball

Real Madrid are the reported subject of a surprise loan swap in the January transfer window involving a Manchester United misfit, but are set to deliver a sting in the tail to the Premier League club instead.

Kobbie Mainoo is a player who is continually being linked with an Old Trafford exit due to his lack of regular game time since Ruben Amorim walked through the door a year ago.

Three months into the new season and the England midfielder is yet to start a Premier League game for Man Utd, with Amorim preferring the combination of Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro at the heart of his engine room instead.

A run of three successive league wins has got United back on track, but also means Mainoo‘s chances of breaking into Amorim’s first XI are looking bleaker than ever.

The highly-rated midfielder, who has most recently been linked with West Ham, also requested to depart Old Trafford over the summer and attracted interest from several clubs, including Real Madrid. However, at that time, United refused to entertain any exit talks.

However, a fresh report from Spanish outfit Defensa Central now states that United are willing to ship Mainoo out on loan to Real in the winter window and want highly-rated Bernabeu attacker Endrick to move in the opposite direction.

With Joshua Zirkzee also looking to secure a January exit from Old Trafford after his own struggles to secure regular first-team football, the report states that United want Endrick to provide competition for Benjamin Sesko in Amorim’s forward line.

The Brazilian has found life tough under Xabi Alonso so far and sits behind Kylian Mbappe and Gonzalo García in the pecking order at Santiago Bernabeu.

The 19-year-old has plenty of admirers outside of Spain, though, with United reported as one of them as they look to try and strike an unlikely loan swap.

That interest from other clubs in the Brazilian forward is what will ultimately scupper United’s hopes of that reported swap approach.

As TEAMtalk previously revealed, any club wishing to sign Endrick on a loan deal in January will have to fulfil three conditions for Real Madrid.

However, at this stage, it appears that a move to French outfit Lyon is the most likely outcome for Endrick, with talks already opened over a temporary switch.

That’s a move that TEAMtalk transfer insider Fraser Fletcher can confirm is very much in the works, with the player himself favouring a move to Ligue 1 over the Premier League at this stage of his career.

It’s also reported that Real are not overly keen on bringing in Mainoo mid-season, although it is something they could potentially revisit next summer if the midfielder’s situation does not improve in Manchester.

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