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Manchester United and Chelsea are fierce rivals on the pitch with neither side looking to lose ground on the other.
Matches between the two teams are often fiercely contested with not even an inch given. And yet, around the negotiating table the conversations between the two clubs are a lot more civil.
Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic were two recent examples of players swapping Stamford Bridge for Old Trafford before United managed to negotiate a permanent exit for Jadon Sancho in the summer. While technically he is still a Red, Chelsea will be purchasing the winger for a fee of £25m at the end of the season.
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Despite being bought for £73m, United were certainly relieved to negotiate a transfer fee with their Premier League rivals considering the forward was firmly out of favour at Old Trafford after a year of anguish. But, having completed that move, Chelsea may feel they are in a perfect position to follow up with a player United almost certainly do not want to lose.
Kobbie Mainoo has been linked with the exit door this week and MEN Sport understands that he is currently unhappy with the contract being offered to him. It must be stressed that United are not looking to force Mainoo out the door but they may see him as a player that holds significant value.
The Blues paid £40m to sign Cole Palmer from Manchester City and this was when the winger was being used on the fringes of Pep Guardiola’s squad. Considering Mainoo has proven he can perform in the Premier League consistently, it is likely that United could command a fee of £60m plus for their academy graduate.
Should United’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) concerns become worse than they currently are, such a figure would be seen as very helpful considering he would be seen as ‘pure profit’. In Premier League accounting terms, this means Mainoo would make the Reds’ bank balance much healthier as they would not have to share the money from the sale from another club or write it down as an overall loss as he cost them nothing.
With Chelsea having a pre-exisiting relationship with United in terms of transfers, their recruitment team may feel they are at the front of the line to purchase Mainoo should the time come that he is put in the shop window.