Manchester United youngster Kobbie Mainoo is still waiting for his first Premier League start since the start of the season, as Ruben Amorim has been opting for other options in midfield.
The 20-year-old is immensely popular with the club’s supporters, who consider him one of the best players to emerge from the club’s academy in recent years, not to mention his heroics against Man City in the FA Cup final in 2024.
However, the midfielder’s meteoric rise to stardom has been halted since Amorim’s arrival in November last year.
Why Ruben Amorim has been reluctant to play Kobbie Mainoo
The young player has been left seething by his lack of playing time since the start of the season. Amorim made it clear that Mainoo will have to fight for a starting role against Bruno Fernandes.
Needless to say, the club captain has had the upper hand, with his Portuguese compatriot selecting him 16 out of 16 times ahead of the Englishman.
But since overtaking his skipper isn’t exactly a realistic prospect, it has been reported that in recent months that Mainoo could be transitioned into the No.6 role, where he might stand a chance against the ageing Casemiro and the underwhelming Manuel Ugarte.
The England international has made a few cameos in a deeper role, including one against Bournemouth on Monday. Therefore, he could be in contention for a starting role against Aston Villa on Sunday, as Casemiro will be serving a one-match ban.
But according to The Telegraph journalist James Ducker, Amorim doesn’t see a permanent future for Mainoo in this role. In fact, the manager considers the player ill-suited to the double-pivot altogether.
So, unless the 40-year-old ends up adopting a three-man midfield, the youngster’s chances of earning a permanent role remain very modest.
Is Mainoo capable of changing Amorim’s mind?
As evidenced by his first 13 months in charge, Amorim can be tactically stubborn, as he remains too fond of his tactical ideas.
However, the fact that the head coach is finally considering dropping his three-man backline in favour of a more traditional four-man defence shows that he’s willing to adapt, albeit slowly.
| Mainoo’s playing time in EPL this season | Minutes |
| Arsenal | 0 |
| Fulham | 0 |
| Burnley | 45 |
| Man City | 28 |
| Chelsea | 3 |
| Brentford | 24 |
| Sunderland | 13 |
| Liverpool | 5 |
| Brighton | 20 |
| Nottingham Forest | 0 |
| Tottenham | Unavailable |
| Everton | 32 |
| Crystal Palace | 1 |
| West Ham | 0 |
| Wolves | 12 |
| Bournemouth | 29 |
| Total | 212 |
Therefore, the question is whether Mainoo has the patience and resolve to stay the course, keep his head down and continue working until he convinces his manager to rethink his stance and hand him the starting role many firmly believe he deserves.
In the meantime, Mainoo’s situation continues to attract suitors around Europe, with Napoli said to be leading the queue.
The Cluless One has been furious this season as he has seen Rasford, Houlund, Anthony and Garnacho resurrect their carriers when he was sure he had destroyed them copletely. Now Mainoo is going to pay a price for that. He will keep him on the bench but will insist on keeping him at the club thus ensuring Mainoo has no chance at resurrecting his carrier. As an added insurance he will persuade SJR to buy more midfielders. Poor Mainoo.
Oops
Bizarre comment. La Liga and Serie A are much easier leagues even McTominay this week said it’s lazy and naive to think players thrive just because they’re not at United – I’d trust his judgement than from one of the typical Amorim out brigade who have short attention spans and just want a shiny new manager for Xmas to talk about. Did you watch Garnacho today? Terrible, kept losing the ball and being tackled – and online CFC supporters were screaming at Maresca to remove him and you want him back!. So not so clueless from Amorim and Utd. The problem with United is ‘supporters’ commenting when they don’t see players train. No other club would have supporters demanding a coach change a team for a 20 year old no matter how talented they think he is. If he’s that good he should take advice from Keane a true legend and fight for his place rather than ask his brother to wear a stupid tea shirt. Pep a great example – happy to let Palmer go as he didn’t fit his system and I bet if you asked him he’d shrug and just say players just have to accept the manager is in charge.
Mainoo will excel in Serie A or La Liga where pace is much slower and much less intense.