- Kobbie Mainoo set for new deal at Manchester United
- Wages set to soar at 130K a week
- Resurgence has come under Michael Carrick
The difference a few months can make in football is staggering. Earlier in 2026, Kobbie Mainoo was on his way out of Manchester United. Today, he is the present and future heartbeat of the Manchester United midfield.
Overall, his meteoric rise from Carrington graduate to a first-team starter has been one of the academy’s biggest success stories since Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford.
Securing Mainoo to a longer-term deal has been on the agenda of club officials for quite a while. Finally, there has been a significant update in the form of a new contract put on the cards.
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Mainoo Set for Bumper Contract
The news was broken by Sully Talkz via The Athletic‘s Laurie Whitwell in a detailed report. Mainoo met with club officials to put pen to paper on a new bumper deal on Wednesday (29 April). Whitwell writes that the new contract will be “a deal to 2031 on an improved salary”.
Mainoo’s salary is expected to be around £135,000 a week on a five-year contract. Whitwell writes that the midfielder will be “among the club’s first-team-level earners”. Up until now, he has been on around £20,000 a week, which is a modest sum for a Premier League starter. The journalist also wrote that the Englishman has been “on the same contract since February 2023”.
Despite being out of favour under Ruben Amorim until January, Mainoo has made 24 Premier League appearances this season. His resurgence has been credited with Michael Carrick‘s arrival, featuring in all but one game under the 44-year-old.
Mainoo requested to leave Old Trafford on loan in January, with Fabrizio Romano recently revealing that a move to Serie A side Napoli was close. The biggest factor was Amorim getting sacked, prompting a U-turn on his future.
Mainoo’s Contract is a Collective Win
Securing Mainoo’s signature is more than just a smart bit of business from INEOS. The club has struggled to reclaim an identity close to the “United DNA” in recent years. However, Mainoo’s importance to the team is the first step of doing so.
With the future of their midfield anchor now sorted, United have the luxury of planning for a partner for Mainoo – especially with the return of Champions League football boosting the profile of players the club can attract.
Mainoo is the man of the hour, but his contract signing is a collective triumph. Much of the credit has to go to Carrick, whose belief and influence on the training ground has energised the player, unlike the last coaching team. Even Harry Maguire’s new contract signing can be somewhat credited to the interim boss.
For the Old Trafford faithful, seeing a local lad become the face of the project is what the club is all about. It’s a piece of good news that will follow confirmation of Champions League qualification that can be secured as early as this Sunday against Liverpool.
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