According to reports, Kobbie Mainoo’s proposed move from Manchester United to Serie A giants Napoli is at risk of collapse, as a deadline has been set.

Mainoohas been heavily linked with an exit from Man Utd ahead of next month’s transfer window.

The centre-midfielder established himself as one of the best young players in Europe during the 2023/24 campaign, but he has suffered a major fall from grace over the past 18 months.

Injuries, a loss of form and the appointment of Ruben Amorim have impacted theMan Utdstar, who is clearly not favoured by the head coach.

Mainoo has only been a bit-part player under Amorim and his situation has reached the stage where he needs to leave to have a fresh start elsewhere.

READ:?Gallagher for Mainoo at Man Utd is swapping one Bruno Fernandes backup for another

The England international requested an exit in the summer, but Man Utd denied his departure at the time as they did not want to be left short in midfield.

However, Mainoo’s situation has not changed in the last few months and a loan move to Napoli remains on the table after they missed out in the summer.

A recent report claimed a deal is already ‘99%’ done ahead of January, but a new report from Italian outlet Il Mattinoclaims the ‘priority’ transfer could collapse as Napoli have set a deadline while they wait for Amorim to give his ‘final approval’.

The report claims: ‘The final appoval must arrive by next week, otherwise the process will be too long. Napoli remain vigilant to other transfer opportunities’.

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Former Man Utd assistant Rene Meulensteen has leapt to the defence of Mainoo as he “cannot fathom” one of Amorim’s decisions.

‘I think there’s a strong possibility that he leaves the club in January on loan,” Meulensteen said in an interview with BestNewBingoSites.

“I think he tried to leave in the summer to follow Scott McTominay to Napoli, but the club blocked the move. Players want game time and Kobbie is no different from any other player; he wants to play as much as possible and improve his game, which he can’t do from the bench at Man United currently.”

He added: “Kobbie Mainoo played himself into the United team and the England set-up by playing absolutely fantastic football for someone so young. He established himself in this team as a starter, and the club and United fans love to see a young player from the academy being successful in the first team.

“For whatever reason, Amorim doesn’t seem keen to play Kobbie which frustrates the fans and myself as I think he is a really talented player.

“I think the reason his game time has been significantly reduced is due to the signings United made over the summer and the formation they play. Signing Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo meant Bruno Fernandes has slotted back into a more defensive position, where we have seen Mainoo play in recent years.

“I can’t fathom why Mainoo and Bruno can’t play together, but maybe Amorim thinks they’re too similar. I would definitely like to see them play together. Kobbie is a top player with plenty of potential, but United are winning games at the moment, so he may have to wait it out for a while for a chance to start in this team again.”