Ross Barkley can give Kobbie Mainoo what he needs at Manchester United, but there's a catch

Ross Barkley knows as well as anyone what Kobbie Mainoo is going through right now. The highly-rated teenager has wowed observers at Old Trafford and beyond this season - prompting calls for England selection as attentions, from an international perspective, start to turn to Euro 2024 this summer.

Whether or not Mainoo does get that particular call, this has been a breakthrough campaign for the United starlet and the future appears to be bright. In the Stockport-born midfielder, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund, the Premier League giants have a youthful foundation in which to build a side capable of challenging once again.

Of course, there will be a few speed bumps in the road for those three players - both individually and collectively - while United need to complement them with the right signings moving forward. They have been among the worst spenders in football for a decade and that must change under their new ownership framework.

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However, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS Group continue to restructure and modernise their recruitment team, they might also be pressed into some quickfire business when the market reopens. So could Barkley - a man well known to Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford from his time at OGC Nice - give United something they need?

Reports from The Sun flag up proposed interest from United in the former Everton and Chelsea midfielder. Barkley, now 30, has revived his career with Luton Town this season after stalling at Stamford Bridge and the French Riviera.

United got to see Barkley first-hand recently when he went head-to-head with Mainoo, Casemiro and the rest this month.