Rio Ferdinand has urged Kobbie Mainoo to be “razor sharp” for the Manchester United game time he won’t be handed by Ruben Amorim in the next few weeks.

Mainoo has featured for just 261 minutes for United this season as he plays the most second of second fiddles to Bruno Fernandes in midfield. The captain’s position alongside a more typical defensive midfielder – Casemiro as thing stand – in the double pivot is the only role Amorim sees Mainoo playing in, and what we’ve seen in recent games suggests not even AFCON will offer the academy graduate the football he needs.

The imminent departures of Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo has been seen as Mainoo’s golden opportunity to play and stake a claim for a more permanent spot in Amorim’s starting XI, and Ferdinand still believes that to be the case.

“If I’m Kobbie Mainoo now I’m probably sitting there for the last couple of weeks, I’m going to get myself razor sharp, majorly fit and ready for when the African Nations hits,” Ferdinand said on his podcast.

“Because if I don’t get in the team, then what is going on?

“The manager could easily, easily move Bruno even into the false nine if Sesko is not fit. He’s done that before. If Cunha is not fit as well, he can move Bruno to the left and play Kobbie in the midfield.

“I think it’s a big, big few weeks for Kobbie Mainoo in determining how he feels about his role at the football club, how he feels about staying or going.

“These next few weeks are going to be telling in that department. So watch this space.”

There’s a whole lot of “ifs” in there and?we’ve essentially seen a dry run for AFCON in the last two games. With two forwards – Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko – not available to play, Mainoo has still only played 32 minutes off the bench in the defeat to Everton, and came on in the last minute in the victory over Crystal Palace.

With Cunha posting a picture of himself in training with the caption ‘back back back’ and Joshua Zirkzee coming up trumps in that win over Palace with a very fine finish, the nailed-on front three when Mbeumo and Amad depart will see Mason Mount and Cunha either side of Zirkzee, who may or may not drop out of the team when Sesko returns from injury in a couple of weeks’ time.

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A report last week claimed Mainoo has ‘said yes’ to Napoli ahead of the January transfer window and the Serie A side are ‘growing positive’ about securing his services, with Mainoo is said to be ‘specifically open to a loan deal’.

And even if Mainoo was given ample opportunity over the Christmas period to prove his worth to United, there’s simply no way he will retain a spot in the team ahead of Mbeumo when he returns or Cunha in one of those inverted No.10 spots.

Because as Amorim has already made very clear, he doesn’t see Mainoo as a player for one of those positions. It’s him or Bruno Fernandes, and it will always be Bruno Fernandes.