The iconic Man Utd record that is under threat if Kobbie Mainoo is sold

Mainoo’s days at United may be numbered (Picture: AMA/Getty Images)

A proud and iconic record that has been woven into Manchester United’s history will inevitably be under threat if the club decides to sell Kobbie Mainoo .

With just six days of the summer transfer window remaining, Mainoo, 20, is open to leaving Old Trafford with the club prepared to cash in for the right offer.

The England international has been an unused substitute in United’s opening two matches of the new Premier League campaign against Arsenal and Fulham, told by Ruben Amorim that he is now in direct competition with club captain Bruno Fernandes for a place in the starting XI. Noises coming out of the player’s camp do not bode well .

Mainoo was on the bench alongside fellow academy graduate Tyler Fredricson for the first two games of the 2025-26 season, continuing a remarkable feat that stretches back almost 88 years. United’s record of including at least one player who has come from their academy in the first-team squad now dates back to October 1937 – a run of 4,323 games.

United’s devotion to youth development has been part of the club’s make-up throughout their history, from the Busby Babes to the Class of 92.

In 1968, United became the first English club to win the European Cup with eight academy graduates in the team that day – 10 years on from losing seven in the Munich Air Disaster. In the 1999 Champions League final, Gary Neville Nicky Butt, David Beckham and Ryan Giggs started on that famous night against Barcelona – another in Paul Scholes would have joined them had he not been suspended.

Many more have followed in their footsteps and having made his senior debut in February 2023, it had been hoped Mainoo would lead the latest generation of players to uphold that tradition. The sight of Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho scoring the goals that won United the FA Cup in 2024 suggested the record was in very safe hands.

Mainoo and Garnacho led United to the FA Cup last year (Picture: Getty Images)

Even amid the troubled spells at Old Trafford over the last decade, it has been a point of pride with no other Premier League side within touching distance of replicating that sort of run.

But it now looks vulnerable. The retirement of Jonny Evans and Marcus Rashford leaving on loan has removed two senior options from the squad. Scott McTominay has found a new home in Naples. Garnacho is on his way out, exiled and holding out for a move to Chelsea . Mainoo’s departure would remove the last player you would regard as a regular first-team player from the squad.

Ruben Amorim turned to United’s academy to bolster the squad last season. Toby Collyer and Harry Amass featured last term along with Fredricson, with all three showing promise. Collyer has since joined West Brom on loan until the end of the season with Amass also expected to leave on a temporary deal. Fredricson was in the squad against Arsenal and Fulham but once Lisandro Martinez is available again after recovering from his knee injury, his place could be in jeopardy.

Mainoo has started the season on the bench (Picture: Getty)

Chido Obi, 17, is regarded as a future star having arrived last summer after leaving Arsenal but fans may have to be patient. 18-year-old Ayden Heaven meanwhile was signed from the Gunners in January, immediately joining the first-team.

The presence of 39-year-old Tom Heaton could provide the loophole to keep the run going, but in a manner that would certainly not be in the spirit of tradition. The shot stopper left the club in 2010 without making his senior United debut and is currently third choice having played just three times since returning in 2021.

Garnacho also on his way out (Picture: Getty Images)

Amass and Collyer remain highly thought of while goalkeeper Radek Vitek, on loan at Bristol City, is regarded as a possible first-team star down the line. United’s academy is also in fine nick and below the first-team level, level, 14-year-old JJ Gabriel is a star in the making , already training with senior players and regularly starting for the Under-18s.