Man United prioritising young star’s contract

Manchester United will hope to return to winning ways when they face Nottingham Forest in the FACup fifth round on Wednesday. 

The Red Devils suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Fulham on Saturday afternoon, leaving Erik ten Hag’s side sixth in the Premier League table.

Defender Calvin Bassey put the Cottagers ahead on Saturday, before England international Harry Maguire equalised late on.

United then applied pressure in search of a winner, but Marco Silva’s side snatched all three points when Adama Traore broke and released Alex Iwobi to slot past Andre Onana.

Ten Hag will be desperate to see his side improve at The City Ground on Wednesday, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

In the meantime, it appears that the club are prioritising contract talks with one of their young stars.

As per Caught Offside, the Manchester outfit are hoping to tie up a contract extension for midfielder Kobbie Mainoo.

The 18-year-old is enjoying a fine breakthrough season at Old Trafford and has already made 16 appearances across all competitions so far this term.

Mainoo’s impressive showings have even prompted speculation that he may be included in the next England senior squad, despite having never been capped for the under-20 side.

The teenager appeared in Ten Hag’s side during pre-season but missed the start of the campaign after suffering an ankle injury.

His current contract is set to run until the end of the 2026/27 campaign, but the report claims that United are confident of agreeing and finalising a new deal in the coming weeks.

It is also claimed that fellow midfielder Sofyan Amrabat, who is currently on loan from Fiorentina, will likely return to the Italian side this summer with United reluctant to activate an option-to-buy clause.