Whitwell: Man Utd fan-favourite snubbed shock £40m move to Premier League rivals | OneFootball

Kobbie Mainoo reportedly rebuffed the chance to join Chelsea at the end of last season.

According to Laurie Whitwell, the Blues looked to materialise their interest in the Manchester United starlet before 2025/2026 got underway, but the prospective transfer held no appeal for Mainoo.

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Mainoo has previously considered a future away from MUFC

Little did he know, he would go on to endure the most difficult five months of his senior career when the new campaign got underway.

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For his own peculiar reasoning, Ruben Amorim headed into what would’ve been his first full season at Old Trafford with the intention of Mainoo playing a reduced role.

Amorim insisted that the youngster was directly vying with his skipper Bruno Fernandes for game time, as he was bizarrely being utilised in a deeper position.

After being an unused substitute for United’s opening two matches of the term, Mainoo pushed to leave in the final week of the transfer window, but saw his pleas fall on deaf ears amongst INEOS chiefs.

Why Mainoo U-turned on his United future

The Carrington graduate continued having to bide his time for the first half of the campaign until, to nobody’s surprise, United’s dismal showings and poor tactical setup resulted in Amorim being relieved of his duties at the beginning of January.

By the time he was dismissed, Mainoo had not made a single Premier League start, which had prompted speculation that he would try to force a winter move.

Thankfully for fans, Michael Carrick was appointed midway through the month and quickly corrected matters; he instantly restored the 21-year-old to the starting XI, where he stayed for the remainder of the campaign.

Mainoo’s record under each manager in 25/26 (Transfermarkt)

In fact, Mainoo enjoyed such a revitalised run of form that he became the only current United player (along with the on-loan Marcus Rashford) to be named in England’s World Cup squad.

It’ll be his second major tournament after playing at Euro 2024, as well as his first World Cup.

Last month, the Stockport-born ace committed his future to his boyhood club by signing a five-year extension.

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