Kobbie Mainoo responds after cryptic social media post sent fans into meltdown

Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has responded to suggestions that his cryptic post on Instagram was about his future at the club.

Mainoo has endured a hugely frustrating start to the season that has seen him play just 45 minutes in the Premier League so far.

The 20-year-old reportedly asked for a loan move away from Old Trafford before the transfer deadline but was told to fight for his place by United boss Ruben Amorim.

After the window closed, Mainoo posted a series of pictures on Instagram that left supporters guessing. The collection showed him sitting pensively, training alone and working in the gym.

The fourth image was a striking shot of actor Miles Teller in the film Whiplash, pounding a drum in frustration. As Daily Mail Sport's Nathan Salt noted on social media, the movie is 'in one aspect, about a rising star that can never seem to satisfy their mentor/coach.'

YouTuber Mark Goldbridge commented on the situation, stating that it is difficult to assess Mainoo's meaning behind the post.

However, Goldbridge indicated that some fans could see it as a criticism of Amorim.

Mainoo, though, responded with a comment saying 'stretch', which suggested that such suggestions were incorrect.

Speaking on The United Stand, Goldbridge said: 'Let me give you the context, Instagram story from Mainoo, training pictures absolutely fine.

'And then the journalist Nathan Salt basically said that Mainoo sharing a picture from the movie Whiplash which is a guy screaming while on the drums which is on Kobbie's story is an interesting one because it's about a rising star that can never seem to satisfy their mentor or coach.

'It results in the character having a mental breakdown because he feels like no matter what he does it will never be good enough.

'My big issue with this is that the youth of today live their life through social media, they express their life through social media. A mood with a bit of music is so instantly gratifying for them. You're never going to stop it. Manchester United cannot ban people from using social media.

'Unfortunately it is a way to express emotion and that is a problem when you are a football club like Manchester United which is on its a*** and is very toxic. We shouldn't have this because this destabilises whatever project we're trying to build.

'Whether Mainoo intended that I don't think he's stupid, in fact I know he's not stupid and I know the people around him aren't stupid, so is it a massively naive coincidental thing or is it actually sending a message?

'The answer is we don't know. He might have done that because he's working really hard and he likes the film. He might have done it to send the message that 'my coach is a t***'. We don't know but the ambiguity basically sends the message to some people that the coach is a t***'.

Chelsea forward Cole Palmer, a close friend of Mainoo's from their time together with England, was quick to leave a comment on Mainoo's post that only fuelled speculation. '3 my boy,' he wrote alongside a love heart emoji — a message that many fans interpreted as shorthand for 'Free my boy'.

The comment quickly racked up more than 10,000 likes, with many United supporters believing Palmer was hinting that Mainoo should be allowed to leave in order to play more. Some also felt it underlined the growing frustration of a player once tipped as a cornerstone of United's rebuild.

Others on X suggested Palmer might have been hinting at 'three more months' until the January transfer window — with some cheekily proposing Chelsea could then move to snap up his England team-mate.