Neville worries INEOS are about to go ‘a step too far’ with inexcusable decision this summer, fans will agree

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·5 de junio de 2025

Neville worries INEOS are about to go ‘a step too far’ with inexcusable decision this summer, fans will agree

INEOS are planning to oversee a complete overhaul following Manchester United’s worst season on record in over 30 years.

Reinforcements are absolutely essential if Ruben Amorim has any chance at competing at the top of the table next term, while outgoings are equally imperative to get rid of deadwood and raise funds.

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It’s thought that no player is off-limits at Old Trafford throughout the window, even those signed in the last few years who’ve simply failed to live up to expectations, such as Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund.

Kobbie Mainoo no longer untouchable at United

While Gary Neville is on board with drastic changes being made to Amorim’s current crop of players, he is hugely concerned that INEOS may take things ‘a step too far’ by selling the likes of Kobbie Mainoo.

Following his meteoric breakout campaign in 2023/2024, Mainoo’s stocks were unfathomably high at just 19 years old – so much so that he earned himself a call-up to his first-ever major tournament, Euro 2024, with just three England caps to his name, and only a matter of months after making his maiden club start.

As such, the fact that his form has faltered since Ruben Amorim took the reins has been a point of concern for the United faithful. He went from being one of the first names on the teamsheet to struggling to replicate the same top-drawer performances fans had grown so accustomed to seeing week in and week out.

Neville: Selling Mainoo would be ‘a step too far’ from INEOS

Mainoo is one of only a few United graduates to still feature prominently following the departures of Scott McTominay and Marcus Rashford. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

The 20-year-old has featured 28 times under Amorim with 15 appearances coming from the off; 12 in the league, two in the FA Cup and one in the Europa League.

In the closing stages of United’s European campaign, Mainoo played a total of 15 minutes across both semi-final legs vs Athletic Club followed by a single minute in the final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur – despite him having a game-defining impact in the quarter-final second-leg when he scored on the cusp of the tie going to penalties, after which Harry Maguire sealed the victory on the 120th minute.

When pressed on the prospect of United sanctioning the sale of the Carrington graduate, Neville responded: “Mainoo? No. That’s a step too far. If we can’t give Kobbie Mainoo a job in that two in midfield…

“When I see Vitinha [in the Champions League final] play for Paris Saint-Germain, or João Neves, I look at Mainoo and I look at the way he plays football and I think, I tell you what, a top club will want him. Now why can’t we make him a top player if he’s one of ours and he’s shown talent?”

“Now, I don’t know what’s going on there in the last few months,” Neville continued on The Overlap US. “He’s obviously had some injuries this season, which have obviously caused him a problem, so he needs to stay fit, but I’d like to think that he could be one of those two in midfield that Ruben Amorim plays.

“But I think we should be building around Kobbie Mainoo in that centre of midfield — not just because he’s come through the ranks.

“I’m alright for getting rid of players that have come through the ranks, but not players who’ve come through the ranks and haven’t had the ability to go and show what they can do. Mainoo’s a no for me. That boy doesn’t leave.”