Kobbie Mainoo will be sacrificed to offset Manchester United’s huge summer outlay - and Tottenham Hotspur are waiting to take the bait.
The England international is a shock name to emerge as a potential transfer target as the final week of the window approaches.
Spurs Waiting in Wings to Seal Mainoo Swoop
Mainoo, 20, is up for grabs at £60m as Old Trafford big-wigs try to claw back their mammoth spend during the close season. Manchester United have already splurged £200m on revamping their frontline, and the arrivals of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbuemo and Benjamin Sesko mean a big financial hole must be filled.
Red Devils co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has bankrolled the club, but Mainoo’s potential sale would come straight off their bottom line as the midfielder is an academy product.
That is also the reason why Manchester United have not stood in the way of any move for Alejandro Garnacho, with Chelsea’s interest expected to be formalised in the next couple of days. Those two deals would go a long way towards satisfying any outstanding issues over profit and sustainability.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Kobbie Mainoo was limited to 19 Premier League starts during the 2024/25 campaign
Tottenham will be in line for Mainoo as he fits their brief for a young, dynamic midfielder. He enjoyed a spectacular rise after his breakthrough campaign in 2023/24, but last season was blighted by injury and he began the campaign by sitting on the bench during the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal last weekend.
Another attraction for Spurs is that the 20-year-old is English, which will help as they need to comply with UEFA's rules over homegrown players to take part in the Champions League.
A potential season-ending injury to James Maddison has not helped new boss Thomas Frank. Mainoo is not a like-for-like replacement, but the Stockport-born man will add to the Dane’s options in the Lilywhites’ engine-room.
The north Londoners' decision-makers also need to give the disappointed fanbase a boost after they were spectacularly snubbed by Eberechi Eze.
The Crystal Palace playmaker completed a quick U-turn on any move to join Frank by choosing instead to head to Arsenal - leaving a host of red faces in the Tottenham boardroom.