Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has been showing off his extra training work during October’s international break – but it may not help his case with manager Ruben Amorim.
Thomas Fair Community Editor and Manchester Evening News readers
15:40, 14 Oct 2025
Kobbie Mainoo has struggled for regular playing time under Ruben Amorim.(Image: Getty)
Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo is pushing for a Premier League start against Liverpool by showing off a challenging training regime in October’s international break, but it might prove to be fruitless in convincing manager Ruben Amorim – and some fans in The Manchester Evening News comments section are warning Amorim that he needs to look after the future of the club by paying his young players more attention.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has opted against selecting Mainoo once again despite his strong showing in the Euro 2024 squad, with his struggle for playing time being the chief cause. Instead, the United academy product has been spending time at a fitness centre and sports complex in Spain, being put through his paces.
It remains to be seen how Amorim reacts to his public show of hard graft, and whether it will convince him to let Mainoo have more than a bit-part role in the squad going forward. With the Premier League offering the only competitive fixtures until United enter the FA Cup in January, there are fewer reasons than ever for Amorim to mix up or rotate what he sees as his strongest XI.
For some fans, it’s a matter of looking after United’s future by continuing the club’s proud tradition of developing young players. Reader BadWolves 77 says: “The treatment of Mainoo is a red line for me, as it’s symptomatic of a problem with this manager. If Mainoo isn’t in the team by Christmas – and his performances have earned it far more than the people ahead of him – then he’ll be gone.
“If it’s a choice between Amorim and the excellent set of youth players – like [Ayden] Heaven, [Tyler] Fredricson, Chido [Obi], [Shea] Lacey and even [Leny] Yoro who gets dropped for [Harry] Maguire – then it’s no choice.”
Commenter 1968red writes: “The treatment of Mainoo is akin to that of Alvaro Fernandez by [Erik] Ten Hag, and look what happened there.”
Lykesang says: “Amorim has his favourites and has no interest at all in academy players. He needs to go as soon as possible or this season will end up like last season.”
Dambuster007 writes: “Demonstration of how poor Amorim’s judgement is. How do you pick [Manuel] Ugarte or Casemiro over Mainoo? He is single-handedly destroying Mainoo’s international career.”
Other readers say that the clamour to see more of Mainoo does not match up to his recent performances – or to Amorim’s requirements. Jasper JH says: “If [Bruno] Fernandes got injured tomorrow, then Mainoo would step in. If Casemiro got injured tomorrow, Ugarte would step in. This is the reality under Amorim right now.
“Really difficult for Mainoo at the moment because I believe he will only get a real chance is if Fernandes is either injured, which never happens, or he gets suspended which does happen. If and when he does get a chance, he will have to play out of his skin, and even that might not be enough, to keep Fernandes out of the starting line up.”
Tt84 writes: “I struggle with Mainoo. I don’t get all of the noise around him. He has never shown he’s actually good enough to be a United or England player in my opinion.
“When he first came on to the scene he was passing sideways or backwards, and that’s fine, he was a young player starting out. He would have likely been told to play it safe and work his way into the professional side. But time has passed and I have never seen him do anything that makes me think; ‘Yup, he’s good enough’.
“However, that being said, I also think he hasn’t probably been given a big enough chance.”
Have your say! Do United put enough efort into nurturing their “next generation” these days? Comment below, and join in on the conversation.