Man Utd outline clear Kobbie Mainoo stance amid contract wrangle and Chelsea link

Manchester United are confident they can reach an agreement with Kobbie Mainoo over a new deal that will keep him at the club long-term.

Mainoo is under contract until 2027 but is in talks with United about a new deal that would see his current £20,000-a-week wage rise considerably to reflect his new-found value to the team. It is understood Mainoo's representatives are looking for £200,000-a-week under the terms of the new deal, which would put the 19-year-old midfielder among United's top five earners.

Casemiro is United's current highest earner, on £350,000-a-week, followed by Marcus Rashford on £325,000, skipper Bruno Fernandes on £300,000 and Mason Mount, who earns £250,000.

United are understood to be confident of reaching a compromise with Mainoo on a pay increase, one that acknowledges his emergence as a regular starter under new boss Ruben Amorim. Chelsea are monitoring Mainoo's ongoing contract situation and have emerged as the favourites to sign the England international, should United be unable to agree new terms with him.

United's need to comply with profit and sustainability rules – under which fees for home-grown players count as pure profit on the balance sheet – has raised the prospect of Mainoo leaving. But Amorim wants Mainoo to stay and only an exorbitant offer – in the region of £70million – would persuade United to cash in on their academy graduate, who has been at the club since the age of six.

Mainoo has made 52 appearances for United, contributing five goals and one assist, and has emerged as a key player for the club in the past 18 months. Talk of a new contract first emerged towards the end of last season, but little progress has been made since then.

The latest update comes amid Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s efforts to cut costs at United. The petrochemicals billionaire has already made 250 people redundant and sacked Sir Alex Ferguson from his club ambassador role and is now considering player sales.

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Mirror Football reported on Tuesday that United are open to offers for their entire squad, in part due to concerns over PSR rules. The club posted losses before tax of £312.9m over the past three seasons and Ratcliffe believes that sacrifices need to be made in order to turn things around.

United splashed around £600m on players for Erik ten Hag, but have told Amorim he will have to work under a much tighter budget. A recent report showed United have racked up a staggering net spend of €1.3bn (£1.08bn) since 2015, more than any other club in the world.

Ratcliffe told United We Stand last month: “We do need to challenge the cost of running this club because what I want to be free for us to do is buy really good footballers, not spend so much of the money on infrastructure. We can't run a business at a loss, which is where United have been in the last couple of years."

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