Rene Meulensteen and Ruben Amorim (Photo: Robert Cianfrone, Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Former Manchester United manager Rene Meulensteen has admitted he cannot understand why current Red Devils manager Ruben Amorim has not found a place in Koby Mainu’s team.
It has been a frustrating season for Mainu, who has only started one of the 11 games he has played for Amorim’s side so far this season, against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup.
The highly regarded young England international was previously a key player for Manchester City, appearing in 37 games in all competitions last season and 32 the year before, starting and scoring in the FA Cup final victory over Manchester City.
Koby Mainu is now definitely on his way to leaving Man United, says René Meulensteen
Speaking to BestNewBingoSites, as quoted by the Daily Mail, Meulensteen now believes Maynou will miss out on playing time and leave the club.
Meulensteen, who worked under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, is clearly not happy with Maynou’s treatment but said he could not understand why Amorim did not use him more alongside Bruno Fernandes in midfield.
“I think he is likely to leave the club on loan in January. I think he tried to follow Scott McTominay to Napoli in the summer, but the club prevented him from leaving,” Meulensteen said.
“Coby Mainu has been a part of the United team and the England national team by playing really good football for someone so young. He has established himself in this team as a starter. The club and United fans love to see young players from the academy succeed in the first team,” added the Dutchman.
“For some reason, Amorim seems reluctant to play against Koby, which is frustrating for both the fans and me because I think he’s a really talented player.
“I think the reason his game time has decreased so much is because of the signings United made this summer and the formations they play. The signings of Matheus Cunha and Brian Mbeumo meant that Bruno Fernandes returned to a more defensive position, and we’ve seen Mainu play in recent years.”
“I don’t understand why Mainu and Bruno can’t play together, but maybe Amorim thinks they’re too similar. I would love to see them play together.”
Will Manchester United make changes to their midfield?
One might imagine that if Amorim really had such a plan, Mainu would have been given a chance by now.
Of course, things can change quickly in football, but Mainu certainly won’t be waiting too long, as he needs to play regularly to have a chance of making it to England’s squad for the 2026 World Cup next summer.
Napoli remain rumored to be the frontrunners to sign Maynou, according to reports such as La Repubblica, and it will be interesting to see if he follows former teammate Scott McTominay to Serie A.
