Manchester United are weighing a summer move for West Ham left back El Hadji Malick Diouf as they look to add competition for Luke Shaw, while Kobbie Mainoo has signed a new contract that runs to June 2031.
Diouf, 21, joined West Ham from Slavia Prague for €22m and is understood to be among United’s options as the club maps out its transfer business for a season in which depth will matter. The Senegal defender had a difficult start in east London, but he finished the campaign as one of West Ham’s most important players after his defending improved in the second half of the season and his crossing added a sharper attacking edge.
That rise has come as West Ham sit only two points above the relegation zone with four games left and after posting losses of £104.2m for the year ending 31 May 2025. Those circumstances may shape whether they are willing to cash in. United, meanwhile, are expected to be in the Champions League next season and are understood to want a left-sided signing only after they address midfield first, with two midfielders targeted and Éderson, Sandro Tonali and Elliot Anderson among the names on the shortlist.
Mainoo’s new deal gives United a different kind of lift. The 19-year-old will earn a basic salary of about £120,000 a week after a season in which he lost his first-team place under Ruben Amorim before Michael Carrick handed him his first league start of the campaign in a 2-0 win over Manchester City on 17 January. Mainoo said United has always been his home and that the club means everything to his family, adding that he can feel the momentum building and is determined to play his part in helping the side regularly fight for major trophies.
For United, the two stories point in the same direction: a club trying to harden its squad without losing sight of the young core it wants to build around. Diouf fits the need for competition on the left. Mainoo’s new contract shows who they want to keep at the center of the project.
