Fabrizio Romano: Manchester United are ready to sign the perfect partner in Mainu as soon as possible

Coach Koby Mainu could already be fearing the worst for this summer season’s World Cup. England supervisor Thomas Tuchel seems to have chosen somebody apart from the Manchester United midfielder who received their first match towards Croatia.

There have been no huge surprises in Tuchel’s beginning XI, however eyebrows had been raised when Jude Bellingham was slotted right into a deep function alongside Manchester Metropolis-bound Elliott Anderson instead of the absent Declan Rice.

Much more fascinating was the next resolution to shift Reece James right into a central function following Bellingham’s personal departure, elevating questions on the place Mynoux would really match within the midfield pecking order.

Nonetheless, two years in the past, the then-teenager performed simply 4 minutes within the first two group matches of Euro 2024, earlier than beginning each knockout sport, together with the ultimate.

As he confirmed within the 2025/26 season, the 21-year-old has shortly established himself as Michael Carrick’s go-to participant in midfield and is used to taking probabilities.

Manchester United hope to signal Mainu’s associate shortly

It was only a few months in the past that Mainu appeared destined for a mortgage transfer in January, together with his function restricted beneath supervisor Ruben Amorim, and he additionally attracted curiosity from Chelsea final summer season.

Having simply signed a brand new long-term contract, his resolution now just isn’t whether or not he ought to keep or not, however fairly which midfield participant is greatest suited to enrich him following Casemiro’s departure.

The aforementioned Anderson gave the impression to be a high goal for INEOS, however the 23-year-old is prone to head to the Etihad until one thing goes fallacious.

That leaves United pursuing West Ham United’s Matheus Fernandes as a substitute, with Fabrizio Romano revealing on his YouTube channel that the Purple Devils are nonetheless “pushing” to signal the Portuguese playmaker.

Romano says there’s rival curiosity from Actual Madrid, however United and Tottenham Hotspur at the moment have the better monetary sources, and each Premier League sides wish to conclude a deal “as quickly as attainable”.

A supply near the switch stated that regardless of Spurs being within the slot, INEOS “stays dedicated” to their very own pursuits, with talks showing to be ongoing over a reported £80m asking value.

Why signing Fernandes is ideal for Mainu

The legacy of Amorim’s time at United, aside from his obsession with a 3-4-2-1, would be the Portuguese’s cussed refusal to offer Mainu a major function. That is as a result of the teenager did not make a single Premier League begin within the first half of the 2025-26 season.

Proper from the off beneath Carrick, the Stockport sensation made his former supervisor look fairly silly and began each sport since then, aside from the defeat to Leeds United.

His high rating towards Liverpool was undoubtedly his deciding issue, however nobody will overlook his spectacular skid at dwelling towards Bournemouth, a second that after once more confirmed what a proficient participant he’s.

One concern, as Amorim had, has all the time been Maynou’s mobility and ground-covering means, however that could be the place Fernandes proves vital, together with his workmanlike all-action fashion.

The 21-year-old was a part of West Ham’s high midfield duo alongside skilled Tomas Sawczek final season, and was omnipresent at occasions, placing out fires everywhere in the park for the Hammers.

He averages 3.9 tackles and interceptions and 5.1 ball recoveries per sport within the high flight, in actual fact, exceeding Casemiro’s averages of three.5 and 4.1 respectively in the identical two metrics.

It may very well be argued that Mainu already had a expertise for the ball-winning fashion within the type of Manuel Ugarte, however this mixture by no means blossomed, maybe as a result of Uruguayan’s struggles in possession.

The 25-year-old had restricted enjoying time in 2025/26, however his passing accuracy was solely 85%, he averaged simply 0.1 key passes per sport, and he carried little progressive and inventive burden on these round him, together with Mainu.

Fernandes is a participant who has come a great distance and in that sense, this younger man could be very calm and in charge of possession, but has a pointy and inquisitive nature to the sport.

The truth is, he boasts a superb passing accuracy of 87%, averages one key go per sport, and represents the kind of participant Mainu can work with as a part of the correct partnership to supply outcomes.

Carrick getting one of the best out of the pairing of Casemiro and Mainu, however there have been occasions when the midfield nonetheless seemed uncovered and neither had the legs to maintain up with their opponents.

Fernandes could be the proper addition in that regard. In contrast to Ugarte, he is ready to match Maynou as an attacking risk, however can also be comfy dropping deeper, thus negating the necessity for the Englishman to continually dictate the movement of the sport.

It’s kind of of a danger to belief two gamers who’re solely 21 years previous, however Carrick may very effectively be the proper coach to blossom a fruitful long-term pairing at Outdated Trafford.