Manchester United have a young promising talent in Kobbie Mainoo. After his breakthrough season in 2023 and playing for England national team, Mainoo currently is struggling to get game time under Ruben Amorim.
Fans and pundits are saying that Ruben Amorim is wasting the talent of Kobbie Mainoo for not using him enough throughout this season. He only started a match once this season when Manchester United got knocked out from the EFL Carabao Cup. After that, Mainoo only played from the bench and quite often was an unused substitute.
The 20-year old was asking to leave the club on loan in the summer, but the Man United board and Amorim refused the proposal because the head coach said that Kobbie is still needed in the squad. Amorim is projecting Mainoo to be an important part of the team next season, but with very little game time he gets, his development is also stalled.
In the last game against Wolves, Mainoo only got 12 minutes on the pitch, but with that limited time, he showed what he could in the midfield by winning duels, an sending the ball forward.
Rio Ferdinand Told Mainoo to Leave Manchester United
Rio Ferdinand and several United legends are also saying that Mainoo is wasting his career by hanging without game time like that. On his Youtube channel, Ferdinand said:
“Did you hear the reaction of the fans when Kobbie Mainoo came on the pitch? Great show of support,”
“I saw (Nicky) Butty and (Paul) Scholesy talking about it on their podcast and I totally agree with them. If I think about it and put myself in Kobbie Mainoo’s shoes I’m out of there, I’ve got to.
“He was playing for England and [was] one of the best players in the tournament. Not many people can say they’ve done that. He has just wasted 18 months of his career now at Manchester United.
“He’s probably been there six months longer than he should’ve been. He should’ve just gone and I think his agent and more importantly his family around him have to protect him.’
“He might be saying I love Manchester United too much to go I want to stay and fight,’ added Ferdinand.
“But it is going to be two years in the summer. You can’t lose two years in your career. It’s a short career and you have to make decisions that are best for you.
“If I was him I’d say: the manager isn’t going to start playing me now. If you’ve not played me in all these matches that have gone before you aren’t going to play me now.
“Let’s just be honest with each other I’m surplus to requirements. Get me out of here”
Rio and some Manchester United legends have been very vocal when criticizing Ruben Amorim for only using Mainoo from the bench. Some fans also voiced their disappointment toward the Portuguese head coach for being to conservative with the substitution, especially when Man United needed to get a goal to win the match late into the game.
Also read: Manchester United: Rashford Only Want Barcelona For 2026 – Price In UK
When asked about his decision not to start Mainoo in some games, Amorim responded with a statement that he will choose the team to win the game, and he doesn’t care who will be on the team as long as they prove they can win the game.
“I just want to win, I try to put the players, I don’t look who it is, I don’t care about that, I’m just trying to put the best players on the pitch,” Amorim said after the Wolves game.
It’s a very hard decision for Amorim, because in one side, Mainoo is needing as much game time as possible, but on the other side, he’s not there yet to replace neither Bruno Fernandes nor Casemiro who are generally better than Mainoo in that Amorim’s midfield double pivot.
Kobbie might ask to leave again in January if the condition not changing until the transfer window open.
But with AFCON, Mainoo might get a chance to start games in the Premier League as Bryan Mbuemo, Amad Diallo, and Noussair Mazraoui will leave to join their country.
It will be interesting to see what will Amorim do with Kobbie Mainoo. Do you think Amorim will give Mainoo start during the AFCON?
No live commentary available for this match yet.
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Man Utd vs Bournemouth MW 16
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Man Utd vs Newcastle MW 18
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Man Utd vs Wolves MW 19
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Leeds vs Man Utd MW 20
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal ARS | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 9 | 19 | 33 |
| 2 | Manchester City MCI | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 35 | 16 | 19 | 31 |
| 3 | Aston Villa AVL | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 15 | 7 | 30 |
| 4 | Crystal Palace CRY | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 26 |
| 5 | Chelsea CHE | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 25 |
| 6 | Manchester United MUN | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 26 | 22 | 4 | 25 |
| 7 | Everton EVE | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 24 |
| 8 | Brighton and Hove Albion BHA | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 21 | 4 | 23 |
| 9 | Sunderland SUN | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 23 |
| 10 | Liverpool LIV | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 23 |
| 11 | Tottenham Hotspur TOT | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 25 | 18 | 7 | 22 |
| 12 | Newcastle United NEW | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 19 | 2 | 22 |
| 13 | Bournemouth BOU | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 24 | -3 | 20 |
| 14 | Brentford BRE | 15 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 21 | 24 | -3 | 19 |
| 15 | Fulham FUL | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 20 | 24 | -4 | 17 |
| 16 | Leeds United LEE | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 29 | -10 | 15 |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest NFO | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 25 | -11 | 15 |
| 18 | West Ham United WHU | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 17 | 29 | -12 | 13 |
| 19 | Burnley BUR | 15 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 16 | 30 | -14 | 10 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton Wanderers WOL | 15 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 8 | 33 | -25 | 2 |
How do you feel?
