Those wishing to see Kobbie Mainoo return to the first-team in the League Cup tonight will be made wait a little longer.
Mainoo, 18, played 90 minutes in the academy’s 4-3 Papa John’s Trophy defeat to Salford City. This suggests the midfielder is highly unlikely to start against Newcastle but perhaps could feature off the bench in a cameo role.
The youngster’s return is something we need because Casemiro is out injured and hasn’t played well all season, while Sofyan Amrabat doesn’t look like the player we needed in the middle.
On top of that, Erik ten Hag doesn’t have any other options for defensive midfielders.
Mainoo impact
The goals came from Shola Shoretire (x2) and Omari Forson, but Mainoo provided two assists and completed 33 of his 37 passes.
This sounds like a player who is finding youth football too easy. Hopefully, it won’t be long before we see Mainoo back playing in the first team.
The academy star impressed during pre-season in the summer, but he was misfortunate to suffer a knee injury in a game against Real Madrid.
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