What Ruben Amorim said about Kobbie Mainoo was more significant than what we saw of him in pre-season. But we are not seeing enough of the Man United midfielder.
Samuel joined the Manchester Evening News in 2014 and is the Chief Manchester United writer. He has broken exclusives on Jose Mourinho’s appointment, the re-signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking, the club’s interest in Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag, as well as numerous other transfers and team news. He has represented the MEN on the BBC, Sky News, Sky Sports News, TalkSport, Radio 5 Live, CNN and various other media outlets worldwide.
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Mainoo shows his appreciation for United fans at full-time
Headphones on and clutching two iPhones and a washbag, Kobbie Mainoo exited the Manchester United coach via the rear exit on the Stevenage Road.
Plenty of fans hollered, “Kobbie” but Mainoo vanished from sight as quickly as he placed the ball past Stefan Ortega in the 2024 FA Cup final. He lingered longer on the Craven Cottage pitch at full-time, anticipating a warm down.
The only ball work Mainoo ended up doing at Fulham was in the warm up, a two-touch exercise that United substitutes favour. That was the happiest Mainoo looked all afternoon.
Without the ball, the 20-year-old appeared glum, almost disillusioned. His smile has been replaced with a forlorn frown. Including pre-season, Mainoo has started in two of United’s seven matches.
A first competitive start of the campaign is inevitable at Grimsby Town on Wednesday before a return to the bench against Burnley on Saturday. Then a soul-searching fortnight. Jordan Henderson is proof Thomas Tuchel is not averse to shock England call-ups but a recall for Mainoo is unforeseeable.
The next week is a test of nerve for Mainoo and his agent, David Lockwood. Some agencies have bristled at the number of United academy clients (Tyler Fredricson, Amir Ibragimov, Malachi Sharpe) Lockwood has acquired in recent years, apparently on the strength of Mainoo’s development.
Mainoo is no longer as untouchable as he was last summer. There is an acceptance at hierarchical level at United that the one-club man is over in this era of profitability and sustainability rules. Discussions over a new contract are at an impasse. “No news,” as Amorim said on Friday.
United have five players ahead of Mainoo in the queue to shift. Daft things can happen in the final week of a window and patience can run out. It is not the time to fret over Mainoo.
Ruben Amorim spoke effusively about him less than four weeks ago. “With those feet, playing the ball, if he finds the right pace, playing like ‘every time I give the ball, I find a new solution. Every time the guy is running back, I can follow the guy because he can’. He’s going to be faster.”
Amorim revealed he is “on top” of Mainoo about his rhythm and pace. It was not so much what we saw of Mainoo on tour that was significant but what Amorim said. He spoke about Mainoo with all the confidence of a scientist who had found a cure.
Mainoo was unused again
There are some parallels with Arne Slot upgrading Ryan Gravenberch from a peripheral to a pivotal player at Liverpool last season. Gravenberch joined Liverpool on transfer deadline day in September 2023 and it always felt like a mismatch. Jurgen Klopp transformed Liverpool into a force with physical athletes patrolling the midfield and the slight Gravenberch jarred with that profile.
Erik ten Hag wanted Gravenberch at United (of course). Gravenberch’s card was probably marked by the mixed results of his fellow Ajax alumni down the East Lancs Road while Ten Hag and Klopp are polar opposites in style and personality.
Under his compatriot Slot, Gravenberch became Liverpool’s linchpin and started all but one of their 37 Premier League matches as they regained the title. Gravenberch was named in the PFA Team of the Year last week.
Ten Hag wanted Gravenberch at United
It was in Liverpool’s dismantling of United in the third matchweek of last season at Old Trafford that Slot pinpointed where Gravenberch had adapted. “What impressed me most when I started working with him [was] how much he can run and then still how good he is when he arrives in the duel.
“Today, you saw with him, Dominik [Szoboszlai] and Macca [Alexis Mac Allister] how much they were able to keep on running. Sometimes you’re late, but then they just kept on running and arriving in the duel. So, that is the one thing that impressed me most about him: how good he also is without the ball.”
Mainoo could be mistaken for one of the tyros developed by Barcelona. His stature, poise on the ball, slick passing and positional awareness are identical to the Catalan cubs. Mainoo would tear it up in La Liga.
Mainoo helped United recover against Lyon
The intensity of the Premier League is unforgiving. Mainoo is no slouch but he has been guilty of lax reactions off the ball. Casemiro was the fall guy for Liverpool’s stroll at Old Trafford a year ago but Mainoo was jogging while Gravenberch was sprinting for Luis Diaz’s opening goal. Then he was ball-watching for the Colombian’s second.
Amorim has noticed that “even Casemiro” is operating at a higher pace off the ball. He prefers a midfield partnership of an attacking and defensive persuasion and only briefly settled on a gung-ho set-up in the second half at Fulham with the game goalless.
Nuance is lacking in punditry and Mainoo was billed as United’s “fourth choice” midfielder on Sunday. That ignored Mount’s in-game stint at 0-0 and Manuel Ugarte emerged at 1-0 as Amorim sought to protect the lead.
Mainoo scored a penalty in the shootout against Fiorentina
That Mainoo is in direct competition with Bruno Fernandes is hardly a shock. “Bruno and Kobbie are in the same position,” Amorim confirmed at Chicago Fire’s training complex back on August 1. His quotes 23 days later were more newsworthy as Mainoo had spent almost an entire game sitting behind his manager in the dugout.
The change of coach at United has hitherto been to Mainoo’s detriment. Two central midfielders are still accommodated but the dynamics are markedly different in a back three and Mainoo has lined up only 15 times under Amorim. Missing four months of last season denied him that rhythm. Now he has to get up to speed.
Then that smile will return.