Ruben Amorim has challenged Kobbie Mainoo to show he is worth £200,000-a-week amid his uncertain future at Manchester United.
Mainoo, who currently earns £20,000-a-week, reportedly wants a 1,000 per cent pay rise to put pen to paper on a new deal at Old Trafford.
Chelsea are thought to be ready to pounce should United decide to cash in on Mainoo during the January transfer window or again in the summer.
While Amorim doesn’t want to sell the talented teenager – he admits it will be hard for the Red Devils to keep all of their homegrown players – with United eager to comply with Premier League spending regulations.
Amorim has now decided to send a fresh message to Mainoo ahead of United’s FA Cup third-round clash with Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday, challenging the 19-year-old to go up a level amid his contract dispute.
‘I think Kobbie Mainoo is improving a lot during the last matches,’ Amorim said.
‘But I think you guys feel like he is the finished product – and he is not. He has so much potential to grow up even more.
‘He is really really good but he can be so much better. I think he is improving, all the players are improving, all the players are important for me, no matter whether they worked with me in the past.’
Meanwhile, Amorim says has been watching film footage of the Sir Alex Ferguson years at United ahead of the FA Cup showdown with Arsenal.
Amorim recalled the time that Ferguson’s side beat Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup in 1990, a result which bought the legendary former United boss time, when he was under huge pressure as manager.
‘I know that story [of Ferguson]…. I think he saved his job, not by winning the Cup but by beating a strong opponent in an earlier round,’ Amorim added.
‘[The fans] were saying ‘Fergie out’ – and then they won that game and then reached the final and won it. I know that. I think it’s important for the future for the confidence of the players.’
United are the current FA Cup champions, having defeated Manchester City in last year’s final under former manager Erik ten Hag.