Robin Amorim responds to Kobe Mainu’s surprising links to Chelsea

Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim has confirmed his desire to keep midfielder Kobe Maino in the face of the upset. interest From Chelsea.

As speculation began to mount that contract negotiations would stall, Chelsea were named as shock suitors for Maino earlier this week. The latest reports suggest that the Blues would be open to a transfer in January United value the 19-year-old at around £70m.

United’s determination to avoid sanctions for breaching profit and sustainability rules has seen them decide that no player is untouchable, while Maino’s status as an academy graduate, whose sale would generate pure profit, has sparked talk of a shock exit from Old Trafford.

As far as Amorim is concerned, he wants to keep Maino, whose contract runs until 2027 and includes a one-year extension clause.

In response to a direct question about Maino in his recent press conference, Amorim told reporters: “Yes, my players are always my favourites. So I really like my players, and I want to keep the players, especially the talented ones.”

“It’s a special moment in this club. It’s a difficult moment. I’m really happy with Kobe, he’s improving, and also with our neighbor (Alejandro Garnacho).”

“The first thing I think I don’t remember saying clearly is that I want new players. What I said is sometimes the profile of this system is different and the players came here with a different idea of ​​how to play. I don’t remember saying that obviously I want new players.

“What I said is that we need to improve our recruitment processes when we target players, we need to make sure that they will cope with the requirements, sometimes you have to gamble a little bit. And what I also said is that we have to improve our academy, to bring in young kids who feel the club in the right way.” With these rules we can do some work and get money to invest in the team.

“Our idea is always to keep the best players and the players we are building for this club but we know the situation of the club at the moment. We will see. But I am very happy. I really like the players, especially the guys from the academy.”

Crucially, united They have no active desire to sell Mainoo and remain keen to end the speculation with a new contract. The teenager currently earns around £20,000 a week and it was recently claimed United’s failure to meet their £200,000-a-week demands left him frustrated.

Read the latest Manchester United news, transfer rumours, and gossip