After handing Mainoo his United debut last term, Ten Hag had planned to make the midfielder a central figure in his team this season, until the 18-year-old was injured on a pre-season tour of the US. Erik ten Hag has been forced to deal with a bag of injuries to key players this season.
Losing the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount and Casemiro at various stages undoubtedly undermined Ten Hag’s hopes of building on last season’s impressive first season in charge.
But perhaps one of the biggest losses for United, given the impact he has had on the team since returning from injury in November, was that of 18-year-old midfield sensation Kobbie Mainoo.
Mainoo has enjoyed a meteoric rise this season, cementing his status as an automatic pick for United, and now celebrating a first call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad ahead of Euro 2024.
After handing Mainoo his United debut last term, Ten Hag had planned to make the midfielder a central figure in his team this season, until the 18-year-old was injured on a pre-season tour of the US.
It is a measure of Mainoo’s ability and influence that in his first game back – also his first Premier League start – in a 3-0 win at Everton last November, he was named United’s man of the match, despite team-mate Alejandro Garnacho scoring with a spectacular overhead kick that will surely win goal of the season.
Since that game at Goodison Park, Mainoo has not looked back, establishing himself as a first-choice pick in United’s midfield, his energy and ebullience in and out of possession giving Ten Hag’s side a new dimension and keeping more established players, like Christian Eriksen and Sofyan Amrabat, out of the side.
At the start of last season, Mainoo was turning out for United’s 21s at Carlisle and Fleetwood in the Football League Trophy, but could now find himself part of England’s squad for the upcoming European Championship, his form having made it impossible for Southgate to ignore him.
Mainoo’s poise, quick feet and sharp footballing brain were never more evident than in the first-half of United’s epic 4-3 FA Cup quarter-final win over Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday, when he skipped past Wataru Endo and Joe Gomez with the ball, leaving the pair befuddled, before allowing Marcus Rashford to take the ball on.
In his 80 minutes on the pitch, up against more experienced opponents like World Cup winner Alexis MacAllister, Mainoo dominated the midfield, comfortable dropping deep to defend and win possession, then bursting forward with the ball in transition, to get United into dangerous attacking positions.
Such was his impact in the first-half of the tie that at half-time, members of Liverpool’s staff were expressing their admiration for Mainoo and his outrageous talent. The Stockport-born teenager is already destined for greatness at United and potentially has a huge summer ahead of him if picked for England’s Euro 2024 squad.
