Kobbie Mainoo has the world under his feet as he has had one of the best weeks of his life. Just a few days after getting a call-up to England’s provisional squad for the Euros, the 19-year-old scored a goal for Manchester United in the FA Cup Final. His brilliance against Manchester City was one of the key reasons that the Red Devils secured the trophy last Saturday and confirmed their place in the Europa League next season.
The 2023-24 campaign did not start particularly well for the Carrington graduate as he suffered an injury, which put him out of action for a few months. However, he came back stronger and quickly became one of the fan favourites at Old Trafford. In his first Premier League season, Kobbie Mainoo scored 3 goals, including a stunner-winning goal against Wolves. The young midfielder has won praise from a lot of former United players for his brilliant debut season in professional football.
Paul Scholes, who is regarded to be one of the greatest English midfielders of all time, had a message for Mainoo after his exploits in the FA Cup Final against City. He posted an Instagram story for the youngster, where he wrote, “Don’t waste your time with comparison between me and Kobbie Mainoo. He is 10 times the player I was at 19. Just love the way he receives ball, calmness, awareness of what’s around him and big goals in big games. He’s special and he’s f*cking Red!”
Praise coming from a player like Paul Scholes is certainly a true testament to the talent of Kobbie Mainoo. Although he still has a lot to improve, the 19-year-old has proven that with time he can lead Manchester United back to its former glory.
Manchester United need to build with players like Kobbie Mainoo
Manchester United’s FA Cup triumph proved to be a true shocker to the footballing world as they were pitted against a Manchester City side who had just won the Premier League a few days ago. However, they showed their big club mentality and took the game away from the former treble winners to lift the FA Cup trophy at Wembley.
The star performers for United in the FA Cup final were the two young talents Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo. They became the only teenagers since Cristiano Ronaldo to score a goal in the FA Cup final. Both of them have been extremely important for the club this season. The duo has helped United win a few games with their brilliance. They certainly have the talent needed to lead the club’s future, but the management needs to put the right set of players around them.
Currently, there are a lot of players on the team that do not fit the Manchester United style of football. The team need to get rid of them in the summer and bring in new faces that will help the club win trophies next season. Mainoo and Garnacho have the personality to lead the club from the front, but they are still young and need the right set of veterans around them. However, in a few years time, they will be ready, but the management needs to have a plan to help them get there sooner.
Bruno Fernandes’ leadership is questionable at times, but he is the only player who has the ability to lead United at the moment. The club need to invest in bringing in a few seasoned veterans as young players like Mainoo and Garnacho still need to learn a lot and that is only possible if they have the right set of players around them.
