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Scott McTominay has reportedly urged Napoli boss Antonio Conte to snap up Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo during the January transfer window , with the Scotland star championing his former Old Trafford teammate. Mainoo has seen his standing at United plummet under new manager Ruben Amorim. Despite being a key player last season, the 20 year old has managed just eight appearances this campaign. Amorim has favoured the combination of Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes in his Premier League midfield, leaving Mainoo to settle for substitute appearances in seven of the opening 10 matches. The youngster was completely overlooked for the bench during the 2-2 stalemate at Nottingham Forest last week. On Saturday, he missed out on the squad altogether against Tottenham due to injury concerns, reports the Manchester Evening News . With United already knocked out of the Carabao Cup and absent from European competition, Mainoo's playing time looks set to remain severely restricted until January - potentially jeopardising his World Cup ambitions. A loan switch has been mooted ahead of the transfer window reopening, with Serie A champions Napoli emerging as frontrunners. Reports previously suggested the Italian giants were prepared to cover his entire wages to secure his services at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. According to The Sun, McTominay is now pulling out all the stops to engineer a reunion with Mainoo in Italy. The 28-year-old departed United in 2024 and enjoyed a stellar debut campaign, netting 12 goals whilst helping secure the Scudetto. McTominay is said to have approached Conte directly to push for Mainoo's signature. "Scott has been to see Conte and told him to get Kobbie," the source revealed. "He's told him all about his strengths and what an outstanding player he is. He knows all about him from his time at United and thinks he would be a great addition to the squad, whether it's on loan or a permanent deal. "Kobbie has been brought up the right way at United having been in the academy since he was a little boy. He would fit straight in and give Napoli a boost." Amorim recently confessed there simply wasn't space for Mainoo in his team. "Every minute we are using to prepare the future with a lot of games and less training," Amorim told beIN Sports . "We are giving a lot of information, we are working on our fitness because we need to keep momentum during the week with good training, really intense. "When you have more games you are just concerned about recovery. We suffered a lot from last season. People forget we played two and three days all of the time and that was really hard for us. But then you have the other side. "I see Kobbie Mainoo training today, and he deserves to play, but then I have to take one guy [out] that's playing really well. We should have played in the Carabao Cup, because I need to see Kobbie Mainoo playing, I need to see Josh, all of these guys deserve to play, but in the end, it is one more game you need to make choices. So you have both sides." Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football . We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
