Players can only leave if replacements come in – Amorim

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim is not inclined to allow any players to depart in the January transfer window unless they are adequately replaced.

Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee are both eager for more opportunities to play during the latter part of the season. Mainoo aims to secure a loan, while Zirkzee has been rumored to be returning to Italy.

Nonetheless, even with reinforcements expected next month from the returns of captain Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo, alongside Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui from the Africa Cup of Nations, Amorim maintains that his squad lacks the depth to handle a decrease in player count.

«It will be tough for anyone to exit the club if we don’t secure a substitute,» he stated.

«We are at a disadvantage. Even when our squad is complete, we’re still inadequate for unforeseen circumstances.

«We are a club with significant obligations. We are managing all these challenges and in the minds of the media, in my mind, in everyone’s mind, we have to win every match. There are no exceptions.»

Amorim will be missing seven key players for the Boxing Day fixture against Newcastle.

Mainoo remains out with a calf injury, and defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire will also not be part of the lineup.

Amorim has previously indicated the club might make a signing in January, although it will not involve Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, who is poised to move to Manchester City instead.

In principle, a stronger addition in midfield to replace Zirkzee or Mainoo could enhance United’s prospects as they pursue a European spot in the latter half of the season.

Financially, however, losing Mainoo may not be advantageous since any incoming player would likely command three to four times the 20-year-old’s current wages.

Unless Mainoo makes a swift recovery, 18-year-old England youth international Jack Fletcher will be competing for midfield positions against Casemiro, Mason Mount, and Manuel Ugarte during the Christmas and New Year timeframe.

Yet Amorim is reaffirming his stance that signing players without integrating them into a long-term vision is futile.

«We are currently struggling, but the club has a blueprint, and we are committed to following it,» he remarked.

«If we get the chance to sign a player [who] we believe will shape the club’s future, [he] will come aboard. If not, we have Jack [Fletcher], we have Shea [Lacey] – in three weeks we’ll have Amad, Noussair, and Bryan, along with Bruno and Kobbie Mainoo returning.»

Amorim did not provide updates regarding the contract situations of Casemiro and Maguire, both of whom are eligible to negotiate with prospective new teams starting 1 January.

He believes Casemiro’s training performances indicate the Brazil captain will continue to give his all as he approaches the conclusion of his United tenure – unless he accepts a significant cut from his £300,000-per-week salary.

Mainoo was intended to learn from the former Real Madrid player but has found himself competing for a spot in Amorim’s midfield – and Casemiro has evidently secured that role.

However, despite having to repeatedly justify not utilizing Mainoo more frequently, Amorim is confident that the United academy graduate will ultimately be pivotal to the club’s future.

«Kobbie Mainoo [has] played in various roles,» he stated.

«He can assume [Casemiro’s] role. He can play if we shift to three, he can fit in as he did in the last match [against Aston Villa].

«The position that Mason Mount held in that match, he can occupy that space.

«He is going to be the future of Manchester United. That is my belief.

«He just has to bide his time. In football, everything can shift in just two days.»