Manchester United are reportedly making progress in talks to extend the contract of a highly-rated midfielder.
After a pre-season ankle injury robbed him of the opportunity to strut his stuff in the first half of the campaign, Kobbie Mainoo has now burst onto the scene under Erik ten Hag's tutelage.
Despite being just 19 years of age, Mainoo has already ousted Scott McTominay, World Cup semi-finalist Sofyan Amrabat and Christian Eriksen - an integral player for Man United last season - to become Casemiro's first-choice midfield partner.
The teenager - who celebrated his birthday on Friday - has appeared 24 times for the first team this season, starting 18 Premier League games in a row and scoring twice against Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Mainoo is expected to start in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final with Coventry City at Wembley, and he also earned serious plaudits for his displays in his first two England appearances against Brazil and Belgium last month.
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Man United, Mainoo "very close" to new deal
The 19-year-old remarkably made his senior bow without making a single appearance for England's Under-21s, and there have been calls for Gareth Southgate to include him in the Three Lions' squad for Euro 2024.
Since his striking emergence, Man United have made it a matter of priority to tie Mainoo down to a new deal, even though he signed a long-term agreement until 2027 with a 12-month option last February.
According to Football Insider, the Red Devils and Mainoo's camp are now "very close" to shaking hands on a renewal, which will see the England international rewarded with a significant pay rise.
Man United have always remained relaxed about the future of their Carrington starlet, who made his senior debut for the club as a 17-year-old in an EFL Cup triumph over Charlton Athletic last season.
However, Ten Hag and co have been keen to ensure that the midfielder feels valued for his contributions to the club, and a bumper renewal is now close to being sealed.
Man United to let five midfielders leave this summer?
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Thanks to Mainoo's rapid rise, all of Eriksen, McTominay and Amrabat have been forced to accept peripheral roles in Erik ten Hag's team in 2024, and the Dutchman recently admitted that the former's lack of game was due to Mainoo's exceptional form.
Including Fiorentina loanee Amrabat, who is highly unlikely to earn a permanent switch to Old Trafford, all three aforementioned lynchpins could head for the exit door this summer as Sir Jim Ratcliffe plots a midfield rebuild.
Eriksen - whose deal only run until 2025 - and Amrabat are considered certain exits, while McTominay and Casemiro's futures are not clearly defined either, as the latter's form this term has also come under scrutiny.
In addition, outcast Donny van de Beek has endured another failed loan spell with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, and the Dutchman's agents are working to end his Theatre of Dreams nightmare this summer.
Ben Knapton
