Ruben Amorim has already warned West Ham United off deals for Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee. Now, in somewhat different circumstances, the comments of Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola should bring about an immediate change of plans.
The man in charge at Old Trafford could not have made it any clearer how he feels regarding a pair of potential January departures.
Ruben Amorim wants Kobbie Mainoo to stay at Manchester United. The same goes for Joshua Zirkzee, despite the fact the two benchwarmers have played a combined total of 220 minutes of Premier League football this season.
That has not stopped West Ham United from asking, though.
According to Fabrizio Romano, West Ham have approached Kobbie Mainoo to offer him a ‘guaranteed’ starting role at the London Stadium. Not only that, but also a way to keep his World Cup hopes alive. Dutch misfit Zirkzee has been offered a Hammers-themed solution, himself.
But when it comes to West Ham’s reported interest in Mateo Kovacic, a January move to East London feels unlikely for rather different reasons.
Having made only one substitute league appearance in 2025/26, Pep Guardiola now confirms that Manchester City’s worst fears have been realised.
Pep Guardiola explains Mateo Kovacic blow after West Ham United links with Manchester City ace
It was Caught Offside who reported, a fortnight ago, that West Ham were keeping an eye on Kovacic’s situation at the Etihad Stadium.
AC Milan are the club most ‘advanced’ in their interest – a Luka Modric reunion appears on the cards in Italy – but his expiring contract has not gone unnoticed either at the London Stadium or at Aston Villa.
Kovacic, who joined Man City in a £25 million deal from Chelsea in 2023, will be in the final year of his deal next summer.
But considering West Ham’s track record when it comes to signing ageing, high-earning footballers potentially past their peak, a 31-year-old Kovacic has the makings of another Niclas Fullkrug-shaped disaster.
Guardiola confirmed this week that the former Inter Milan and Real Madrid playmaker is still facing an extended period on the sidelines. There is no respite, yet, following an ankle problem which has restricted him to four Premier League minutes in 2025/26.
“He will be out for a while. The problem is still with the ankle,” Guardiola said, indicating that Kovacic will not return until the New Year. “We will wait for him, for the last part of the season.
“A while, he will be out for.”
Croatian publication Sportske Novosti suggest that City may have to wait four months to see Kovacic in action again.
West Ham ask about Kobbie Mainoo and target PSV Eindhoven’s Ismael Saibari
Nuno Espirito Santo reportedly wants more dynamism, speed and aggression in the centre of the park, even if the addition of Mateus Fernandes and the emergence of Freddie Potts helps in that regard.
Kovacic, at his peak, was one of the most athletic, imposing box-to-box midfielders around.
Now the wrong side of 30, and with his body under strain, a man so renowned for that trademark burst of acceleration feels like an expensive risk West Ham cannot afford to take. Quite literally, with their finances already stretched.
The so-called ‘best player in the Eredivisie’ feels a better, more long-term fit.
Hammers News can confirm that West Ham like PSV Eindhoven’s Ismael Saibari. A ‘special’ footballer who many view as being perfectly-suited to English football, Saibari has ten goals in 16 PSV matches this season already. There are shades of a young Kovacic, meanwhile, in the way he powers away from opposition midfielders with the ball at his feet.
As for Mainoo, Romano reports that West Ham are waiting in the wings as January approaches. Amorim may prefer to keep him around. But, without a single league start all season, Mainoo’s patience is running low.
“[Whether West Ham can get him] depends on what Ruben Amorim wants to do,” Romano says on the Here We Go podcast. “The desire for Amorim would be to keep the same squad, in terms of players. So, let’s see what’s going to happen there.
“There is interest from England. West Ham for example, for sure, [are] offering a guaranteed starting spot to Kobbie Mainoo.
“There is interest from Italy. Also Napoli are looking for a midfielder after the injury of Kevin De Bruyne, and Kobbie Mainoo has always been on the short list.
“So for sure, Kobbie is going to be one to watch depending on what Man United want to do.”
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