Manchester United are set to keep hold of young talent Kobbie Mainoo, despite the player's desire to secure a loan move before the transfer window slams shut on Monday night. Mainoo, 20, has expressed his wish to gain more experience elsewhere before the 7pm deadline on September 1, but United insiders have revealed they can't afford to let him go.

The Manchester Evening News claim that if Mainoo were to leave, United have decided that they would be forced to look for a replacement midfielder within the next 80 hours. The youngster is seen as a crucial part of the squad by head coach Ruben Amorim, who has received full backing from the United leadership team over his management of Mainoo.

Amorim believes that Mainoo still needs to work on certain areas of his game in order to reclaim his spot in the starting line-up. A muscular injury in February saw Mainoo lose his first-team place, and he has only started 15 times under Amorim since then.

Despite being versatile enough to play in midfield, as one of the two No. 10s or even up front in Amorim's 3-4-2-1 system, more experienced players and new signings now fill those positions.

Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro have been the preferred midfield pairing in United's opening Premier League games, and it looks like Mainoo could find himself back on the bench for the upcoming match against Burnley at Old Trafford on Saturday.

United officials empathise with Mainoo's situation after he failed to make an appearance in the matches with Arsenal and Fulham.

Last summer, Mainoo was considered one of United's untouchable players, but his failure to agree a new contract has cast doubt over his future at the club.

United struck a fresh agreement with Mainoo in February 2023 whilst he remained just 17 and had featured merely twice for the club.

The academy product has since made 73 appearances for United, with Mainoo netting the decisive goal in the 2024 FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City before earning a starting berth for England in that summer's European Championship final.

The gap between Mainoo's standing and wages has created a deadlock in contract negotiations.

Mainoo turned down United's initial proposal at the beginning of the year, with Amorim acknowledging last week there was "no news" regarding the situation.

United have been scouting for a fresh midfielder but shelved plans to pursue Carlos Baleba, with the Brighton enforcer priced at £100million.