Kobbie Mainoo picks favourite destination after TWELVE clubs make transfer enquiries for out-of-favour Man Utd midfielder

According to the Daily Mail, a dozen top European clubs have shown interest in signing Mainoo on loan in the January transfer market, however, the midfielder has picked Serie A champions Napoli as his preferred next destination. The England international's move to Italy is now dependent on whether the Red Devils give the green light to the transfer in the upcoming winter window.

Napoli, who are currently fighting to retain their Serie A crown, have seen their midfield dismantled by a cruel run of injuries. The latest blow was the high-grade lesion to Frank Anguissa's thigh, sustained on international duty, which will keep him out for the foreseeable future. This fresh setback comes on top of the long-term absence of Manchester City legend De Bruyne, who suffered a serious muscle tear in October. 

With Stanislav Lobotka also working on his fitness issues, manager Antonio Conte is left with a skeleton crew in the middle of the park. The Italian coach is aware that relying solely on Scott McTominay and fringe players like Michael Folorunsho is not sustainable if the club are to compete on multiple fronts, making a January reinforcement an absolute necessity.

With the scarcity of quality midfielders, Mainoo will surely enjoy a lot of game time in Italy and will also benefit from playing under a seasoned head coach like Conte, which could prove to be a huge learning opportunity for the youngster.

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With Mainoo growing 'deeply frustrated' with his lack of game time, Amorim recently addressed the media to speaking about the 20-year-old's situation at Old Trafford as he said: "I see him as a starter like the other players. I just have to make a choice and then in the end, it's not been Kobbie. In the future, I don't know. Again, I always think the same thing with Casemiro. (He) was not playing and then he plays. I just want to win games. I don't care who is playing.

"I see it. I just want to win, I try to put the players, I don't look who it is, I don't care about that, I'm just trying to put the best players on the pitch. You have Manuel Ugarte that played two games. One of them, Casemiro, was out, Bruno Fernandes, he's always fit, he's the guy that is doing his position, so maybe it has to do with that."

In response, though, club legend Paul Scholes slammed the Portuguese as he came to Mainoo's defence and said: "Bullsh*t. The kid is being ruined, not being played in a team that can't control a game of football. Hate seeing homegrown players leave but it's probably best for him now, enough is enough."

The Africa Cup of Nations this winter will see several top African players leave to play for their respective national teams. This could be the perfect time for Mainoo to get as much game time as possible and win back Amorim's trust, but the coach has offered no guarantee of minutes.

"I don't know, I don't know," he said. "It's the same question, I don't know what is going to happen. It depends. I've seen the training. If it's the best thing for the team, I will put (him in), that is the only way I know how to respond to that. Of course, I understand, and my job is to answer, but I'm trying to answer always the same thing, and you ask me always the same thing. I understand what you are saying. You love Kobbie, he starts for England. But that doesn't mean that I need to put Kobbie in when I feel that I shouldn't put Kobbie in, so it's my decision."