Manchester United Thread 25/26 - Teamtalk/Transfers/Gossip Mod Note in OP 26.09.24

Chris Wheeler Daily Mail.

We better get top 6 relatively easy unless some major injuries crop up. Top 6 next season. Top 4 the next season and title challenge. If it's 5 years away, we may as well give up now.

Of course. But if we can't even be expecting top 6 next year, then by that rate we won't be competing for 5 or 6 years if even. Doesn't mean we need to be winning a title but at least challenging in Amorims 3rd season. Or at the very least getting very close to challenging, maybe 10/15 points off.

I've no doubt Mainoo is looking for big money, historically he probably would have got it.

the united ownership have to set a new model going forward though - there is no reason Mainoo should be earning more than the players listed above, or Cole Palmer for example. There is also the fact he spent a large part of last season injured (unfortunate) but also a large part of this season - without nailing a place down under Amorim. IMO he hasn't proven himself to be worthy of a top tier wage as of yet.

I believve United are looking at a contract closer to Amad and Yoro (speculation I have read elsewhere) and imo that is fair. We'll have to see how it plays out.

And at the same time we apparently have some 14 year old phenom in the youth team - young irish guy JJ Gabriel - but it looks like he could be off. Could lose him because the club aren't competing for titles. His family are 100% focused on making money from him (which is an attitude I don't like). Signed with Nike cause they pitched him as the heir to Ronaldo. the family changed their name cause Gabriel would be more brandable. Took the jid out of school so that his life could revolve around football training…

"Amorim has also struggled to find the best role for Mainoo in his 4-3-3 system" that doesn't do much for the credibility of the article.

I'm sure Mainoo's guys are trying to get him the best deal available. The club said they would consider offers for him only a few months ago, couldn't really blame his agent benchmarking whatever type of contract the likes of Chelsea etc would give him.

I would really like him to stay and would hope that he's realistic in his asks... But there's a part of me that can understand them feeling like the club has rubbed them up the wrong way. The club have hinted that they will profit greatly on him if the opportunity arises. The club made it very transactional for a promising young academy player.

I get ye but he does have a source and somehow has a media pass!

I get that the Mail is well known for its stance on young black men. But what's the clockwork part about? What young black player has been forced out of Utd by the fans and called greedy?

Amad is also 3 years older than Mainoo, he was on loan at Rangers or somewhere getting no game when he was Mainoos age.

He also plays a position that is more forgiving in terms of consistency.

The comparisons are unfair.

He's already on somewhere like that. Reality of life is that if we want to keep him we need to offer him substantially more in his next contract. plus with other teams sniffing around him then that will create a value that is above the 30k mark.

Football wages are crazy, and we're at the top end of that craziness. Some decent signs that we are getting away from that but it's going to be a gradual process over a few years.

But if we think that Mainoo is going to tie himself into United for 30k per week until he is 25/26/27 then that is also crazy. His current deal sees him until he will be 22.

Dorgu is on his first contract with United, reported to be £40k per week by fairly reliable sources. That's seems a somewhat sensible wage for us to be offering, but Dorgu will have been delighted with it (a huge increase from the €12k he was on). Him and his people will certainly be aiming to be more aligned with the rest of the squad for his second contract imo.

Mainoo's situation is much more similar to Amad. While 120k may seem crazy, and it is, I think he/his people will be expecting to be at that level. The club basically put him in the shop window in January, his agent will know what he could get elsewhere... And it would be multiples of 30k.

If someone said to me that we'll end up signing Mainoo for 150k until he's 26/27 then I would say that's another small step towards sorting out the wages at United.

Highly likely that they would come looking, but that's up to the club to manage!

In the past, a new contract would probably have been awarded in that instance, but it seems fairly evident that Ineos aren't going to be as generous.

I don't really have an issue with someone like Mainoo getting 100-120k in his next deal.

Make it a 5 year deal with option of an extra year from the club. We can review the when he is 23/24.

Mainoo is more valuable to the club because of the homegrown status.

He'll get to 23/24 and if we aren't happy with his progress or if we aren't challenging /looking like challenging then he still has plenty of time to explore other options.

In the past we would have given the 180-200k deal and leave ourselves nowhere to go on his next contract other than making it utterly ridiculous.