Manchester United have plentiful personnel overlap with Italian champions Napoli, where Rasmus Hojlund is currently playing with former Red Devils Scott McTominay and Romelu Lukaku.
Kobbie Mainoo is the latest Man United player linked with a move from Old Trafford to the Diego Maradona, with reports suggesting that Antonio Conte and the Partenopei hierarchy plan to push for the midfielder in the January transfer window.
Kobbie Mainoo’s Manchester United days might be numbered with Ruben Amorim in charge at Old Trafford
The 20-year-old United academy product has fallen out of favour under head coach Ruben Amorim, losing his place in the England squad as a result.
He was injured early in Amorim’s Old Trafford tenure and, with under two years left on his Red Devils contract, it’s no surprise that clubs are circling with a view to snapping him up.
Football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently claimed that Mainoo’s future is up in the air: “If we arrived to November, end of December, and Kobbie is still not playing on a regular basis, the Kobbie Mainoo situation could become a story to follow again in the January transfer window.”
Napoli are among the clubs linked with Mainoo in the summer and reporting by Gazzetta dello Sport indicates that the Scudetto winners are facing a problem to which Mainoo could be an ideal solution.
The Italian sports daily reports that midfield injuries issues are affecting Conte’s team. McTominay and Frank Anguissa were vital players last season and are still available in midfield but Stanislav Lobotka and De Bruyne are both injured.
FourFourTwo understands both will be back before the January transfer window but the double injury blow highlighted the need for quality depth in the middle of the pitch.
“Napoli attempted [a Mainoo transfer] at the end of August, in the midst of the Hojlund deal,” writes Vincenzo D’Angelo. “And they'll try again.”
Napoli’s title defence has been far from flawless in 2025-26 but they sit at the top of the Serie A table after nine matches. Second-placed Roma have a game in hand. Away defeats against AC Milan and Torino preceded last week’s 6-2 calamity against PSV in the Champions League but Napoli still have a 100% record at home in all competitions.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Mainoo could do a lot worse than Naples. If Man United intend to secure a transfer fee for the midfielder a decision on his future won’t be far away. It’s believed they don’t want to sell the 20-year-old but the next two months will tell him a lot about his prospects.
The Red Devils face Nottingham Forest on Saturday as Premier League action continues.
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