Erik ten Hag has made it clear he is eagerly waiting for Kobbie Mainoo to recover from injury.
Manchester United suffered two unfortunate injuries to Amad Diallo and Kobbie Mainoo during the pre-season tour.
It was a real blow to lose last year’s Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year in the opening minutes of our friendly against Real Madrid since he was showing real promise in the previous games.
Many fans were of the opinion that Mainoo looked like a youngster ready for minutes in the first team. Ten Hag has now confirmed that is part of his plan for when Mainoo fully recovers from his injury.
United’s midfield struggled against Wolves in Monday night’s 1-0 win at Old Trafford. That may have been down to Ten Hag’s tactics, however, it sounds like he sees Mainoo as a potential solution.
Speaking at his press conference, Ten Hag says he believes Mainoo could be an effective partner for Casemiro.
“I know, in this moment, he’s not there, but Kobbie Mainoo, we have seen him against Arsenal [in pre-season], he is ready to also pick that role,” Ten Hag said, as per ManUtd.com.
“At this moment, he’s not available but I think he will also, in say one, two months. Not in one month, but in two months, he will be available.
“And so, for the winter [that] is coming up, he absolutely will have his games.”
This tells us how much Ten Hag rates Mainoo and it raises questions over whether United will dip back into the transfer market to ensure they’ve enough cover for Casemiro in the squad.
The Reds have been linked with Sofyan Amrabat and Amadou Onana.
This should be considered an encouraging update for Mainoo because a decision was made earlier in the summer to keep him at the club rather than send him away on loan.
Mainoo is definitely part of Ten Hag’s plans.
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