Kobbie Mainoo Shines Amid Transfer Frenzy
Manchester United have thrown £150m at their midfield this summer. On Sunday, the best player in that department cost them nothing more than time, trust and a pathway from Cheadle and Stockport to Old Trafford.
Kobbie Mainoo, academy-bred and unfazed, ran the game in United’s 5-2 dismantling of Ipswich. While the new signings are still finding their bearings, the 21-year-old looked as if he has been doing this for a decade.
Harry Maguire, watching much of Mainoo’s work unfold in front of him, could barely contain his admiration.
“I thought he was brilliant, Kobbie,” the defender said. “To say he hasn’t played for I don’t know how long – not really got many minutes in pre-season and things like that, he was magnificent. He put a great shift in and I think his work without the ball has improved so much since Michael [Carrick, the manager] has been in.”
Maguire credited Carrick and his staff for sharpening Mainoo’s off-the-ball game, but the praise quickly became personal.
“Without the ball now, he’s becoming a real monster in there, and he wins a lot of second balls. He wins a lot of duels. You won’t want to play against him in there and that’s the biggest compliment I can give to him from playing and watching him behind.”
The centre-back then widened the lens to what comes next.
“He’s so young, if we want him to play for this club for another 10 years, there’s going to be times where he’s going to go through a patch like with Rashy and myself, but that’s part and parcel. I think he’s really level-headed, he’s really composed, he has great belief in his ability and, he’s going to be a magnificent player for this club for many, many years.”
While United basked in the glow of a homegrown star, the rest of the game spun through another frantic day of transfer manoeuvres.
Gakpo, City and Liverpool’s gamble
At Liverpool, unease is building. The club’s recent recruitment has been described as chaotic by some supporters, and the looming sale of Cody Gakpo has only sharpened the mood.
One Liverpool fan, Graeme Neill, vented his frustration in an email, questioning why both Curtis Jones and Jarell Quansah were sold, lamenting the fee for Alexander Isak and casting doubt on Bradley Barcola’s fit unless he can somehow morph into the Fabinho of 2019. The curiosity, though, centres on Gakpo – and what Manchester City fans make of him.
City supporter Sean Baker spelled it out. He likes the idea.
Gakpo, he argued, brings consistency, a league title, Champions League experience and goals on the biggest international stages – the Euros and the World Cup. Not the flashiest winger in the world, perhaps, but a footballer with something managers cherish: versatility. Left wing by trade, capable through the middle, and competent on the right.
That profile, Baker suggested, makes him an ideal rotation option across City’s front three, backing up Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku and Antoine Semenyo in a season where City will again chase four trophies. The price – £85m – is steep, he admitted, especially for a player who would not walk straight into the XI, but he still sees value.
Liverpool’s logic is different. With Mohamed Salah gone, Victor Muñoz signed, Rio Ngumoha emerging and Barcola on the way, the left flank is crowded. Ngumoha, Muñoz and Barcola all prefer that side, where Gakpo has thrived. Liverpool are instead eyeing right-sided forwards such as Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh and Crystal Palace’s Ismaïla Sarr.
In their eyes, Gakpo is the expendable piece to rebalance the attack. Selling him to City, though? That would be a bold step. Big clubs rarely strengthen a direct rival by choice.
Arsenal’s attacking reset
Across north London, Arsenal are tearing into their own forward line. The club have agreed to sell Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Fábio Vieira in deals worth more than £70m combined. The plan is clear: free up funds and space to tempt Julián Álvarez away from Atlético Madrid.
Time is against them. The window shuts at 11pm on Tuesday and Arsenal are racing the clock to convince Álvarez to swap Madrid for the Emirates. Even the champions, though, are not done reshaping.
Emery’s edge and the Villa–Chelsea pipeline
At Aston Villa, Unai Emery cut through the polite fiction that often surrounds transfer “relationships” between clubs. With Emi Martínez and Morgan Rogers heading to Chelsea this summer and Alejandro Garnacho moving the other way, the link between Villa Park and Stamford Bridge has been busy.
Last season, Villa borrowed Axel Disasi from Chelsea and then paid £37.5m to sign Ian Maatsen in 2024. Friendly, then? Hardly.
“Good relations? They want to kill us and we want to kill them!” Emery said, only half-joking.
“We have good players and we can sign one player off them, it’s not a good relationship – it’s a deal for money and a deal for players. I am happy for Emiliano Martinez and Morgan Rogers and I know I am not happy for Chelsea.”
In a window full of platitudes, Emery’s bluntness cut through.
Everton, Juventus and the late scramble
Lower down the Premier League, Everton are piecing together one of the more intriguing late windows. Folarin Balogun is in their sights, with talks under way with Monaco after the club agreed to sell Beto to Fiorentina.
Balogun, viewed as an upgrade, would reshape their attack, while David Moyes has sounded increasingly upbeat about Thierno Barry’s development at the start of his second season in England – a pivotal period for any import. How Moyes balances Barry’s minutes if Balogun walks through the door will be worth watching.
Losing Iliman Ndiaye would hurt, yet the potential return of Richarlison from Spurs, this time on the left wing, would be a popular move on the blue side of Merseyside. There is also lingering chatter about a second loan for Jack Grealish.
On the continent, Nick Woltemade is on the brink of a loan move from Newcastle to Juventus, a year after arriving on Tyneside in a club-record £69m deal. It would be a swift reset for a striker who has yet to fully convince in England.
West Ham’s push and quieter moves
West Ham, eyeing promotion from the Championship, are close to signing Viking winger Edvin Austbø for about £10m. They have also bid to take Ryan Giles on loan with an option to buy, though Hull are resisting any move for their left-back.
The Hammers have already announced Austbø’s arrival, raising the question of how much more business they can squeeze in before the deadline as they attempt to turbocharge their campaign.
Beneath the headline transfers, the churn continues. Rotherham United have taken Manchester United youngster Jayce Fitzgerald on loan for the rest of the season. Barcelona have moved for 16-year-old Mikael Baza from Hamburg, slotting him into their youth ranks. Jaden Heskey is returning to Sheffield Wednesday from Manchester City after impressing there last year.
Women’s game: City land Wamser
In the women’s game, Manchester City Women have strengthened again. Germany full-back Carlotta Wamser has joined from Bayer Leverkusen on a four-year deal, becoming the defending WSL champions’ third signing of the summer after England internationals Beth Mead and Niamh Charles.
Wamser, capped 14 times by Germany and part of their Euro 2025 squad, made her ambition clear in her first interview with the club’s media channels, calling the English league the best in the world and City one of the best clubs. She believes this move is the “next step” she needs to develop.
City’s director of football, Therese Sjögran, hailed Wamser as a long-admired talent who will bring “energy, passion and a willingness to learn”, and pointed to her decision as a statement of what City are building.
Fresh starts and familiar frustrations
Willy Gnonto is another player seeking a reset. Fiorentina have agreed a deal to take the Italian winger on loan from Leeds, with a medical scheduled for Tuesday. His time at Elland Road began explosively but faded as he slipped in and out of the side, often from the bench. A new league and a new club might be exactly what he needs.
Back at Liverpool, the broader strategy remains under scrutiny. Andy Hunter, in his weekly Premier League talking points, highlighted the tension between the excitement over Barcola’s impending £123m arrival from Paris Saint-Germain and the glaring gaps still in Andoni Iraola’s squad – right wing, right-back and central midfield.
Those weaknesses were exposed as Liverpool had to claw back a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest. “We don’t know what the squad is going to be on 2 September,” Iraola admitted, insisting any real assessment must wait until the window closes and he knows who will be with him all season, or at least until January.
The wider carousel
Elsewhere, Ollie Watkins has swapped Aston Villa for Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League and is set for an immediate high-profile clash with Al-Ahli, where he will go head-to-head with Ivan Toney in a duel that Thomas Tuchel will be watching closely as he weighs his England striking options.
And at the Emirates, the clock keeps ticking on Álvarez. At Anfield, Gakpo’s future hangs in the balance. At the Etihad, City weigh whether an £85m squad player is exactly what they need.
United, at least for a day, can step away from the noise. They spent big to rebuild their midfield, but it was the kid from Cheadle who dictated everything. As the window races towards its 11pm slam, the question lingers: how many other clubs will look back on this summer and wish their best signing had simply been there all along?
