West Ham are looking to secure the services of Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo in the January transfer window.
Ruben Amorim has favoured Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes to anchor the Red Devils’ midfield over the England international.
Due to that, Mainoo, 20, is yet to make a Premier League start this season, and the only time he has started a game this season was in the loss against Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup.
Rio Ferdinand has urged Kobbie Mainoo to leave. He will be West Ham’s best midfielder…
How can Nuno convince him to join?
Kobbie Mainoo at odds with Ruben Amorim
A lot was made of Mainoo’s brother’s sign that took a clear dig at Amorim for not playing the midfielder enough, and Paul Scholes has asked him to leave to get regular game time.
Prior to Amorim’s arrival, the youngster broke into the first team, had memorable goals for the senior side and also made his England debut.
However, since the Portuguese came in and deployed a back three, the 20-year-old has struggled for game time as he does not fit into the manager’s plans.
Due to uncertainty over his future, West Ham have emerged as contenders to sign Mainoo, and could look to secure his services on loan.
Which position do West Ham need to strengthen the most and why? Who is your dream January signing?
Mainoo left out of Manchester United squad vs Aston Villa
Casemiro’s yellow card against Bournemouth not only saw Amorim take him off for Mainoo, but it also meant that he was unavailable for the game against Aston Villa on Sunday.
With the England international coming off the bench for the Brazilian, the expectation was that he would start against Emery’s side.
However, the 20-year-old was not only missing from the playing eleven but was also completely absent from the matchday squad.
This led to many speculating the reason as to why the Red Devils had omitted a potential starter from the squad.
While it could have been a disciplinary issue for what his brother did, it’s understood that he picked up an injury in training the day before the game, which is why he was not mentioned as ruled out in the pre-match press conference.
Do West Ham need Mainoo in January?
Freddie Potts, Soungoutou Magassa and Mateus Fernandes have been Nuno Espirito Santo’s go-to midfielders this season.
While they have done a decent job, Potts may be better off being a bench player for another season and Mainoo would start ahead of him should he join.
He would add composure in the middle of the park and give the West Ham side that x-factor they need to drive the team forward.
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