According to reports, Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo could leave his boyhood club in January as INEOS have decided to ‘open the door’ to an exit.

Mainoo has had a rough 18 months since enjoying a remarkable breakout season for Man Utd and England during the 2023/24 campaign.

During this season, the centre-midfielder established himself as one of the best young footballers in the world, though he has suffered a major fall from grace.

Injuries and poor form impacted Mainoo last season, while the appointment of head coach Ruben Amorim has also contributed to his downfall.

Amorim is clearly not a huge admirer of Mainoo, who has only been a bit-part player during the head coach’s reign. This led to him requesting a loan transfer in the summer, though Man Utd blocked a move as they felt they had limited options in midfield.

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Despite this, it has been suggested that an exit remains a possibility heading into January and Amorim has conceded that they will have a decision to make regarding Mainoo and/or Joshua Zirkzee.

Amorim explained: “A lot of things can happen. Even in our club, and you know that we have World Cup, some players are not playing, they will ask to leave, so I have to manage everything.

“We want to bring players, everyone here, we want to bring players that we can see a big future in Manchester United.

“We are not just buying one guy, because now we feel in December that we need this kind of player for now. No, it’s going to be, we want to buy players that we know we are not going to change a lot of times.

“So that is our idea. I don’t know what is going to happen, but of course we think about how we can improve the team, and in January the window is open, we can do something.”

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Over the weekend, a report from the Mirror claimed Man Utd have received a new ‘offer’ for Mainoo from Serie A giants Napoli, who were keen on the midfielder in the summer.

It was also noted that Napoli are ‘willing to cover all of Mainoo’s wages in the hope of signing him’ as they are ‘desperate to lure the Manchester United outcast to Naples as soon as possible’.

Now, a report from journalist Sacha Tavolieri has revealed that the England international’s potential move to Napoli has been ‘revived’, with it claimed that ‘a recent meeting between the player’s agents and United has opened the door to a compromise’.

Tavolieri explained: ‘Mainoo, convinced he could succeed under Antonio Conte, is tempted by a move to Serie A, and the Italian champions might agree to a loan with an option to buy that could become mandatory if certain conditions are met, particularly those related to the number of matches Mainoo plays in the second half of the season.

‘Whatever happens, negotiations will continue between the parties, but Manchester United has already made it clear they would prefer to see the player in a foreign league rather than in the Premier League, where several options have already been ruled out.’