The Player Analyst

At first, Kobbie broke through with localised excitement, seen as a deeper, controlling midfielder to gradually move through the rankings in a poor Manchester United midfield, beside Bruno Fernandes. As he was picked more and more in the Christmas period of Erik ten Hag’s 2nd season, Kobbie Mainoo became arguably the most exciting young star in the Premier League. A teenager, playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, gliding through players like it was street football? United had a serious player on their hands, yet again from their productive academy system.

A phenomenal solo goal against Wolves, the FA Cup winner versus rivals Manchester City, and a well-earned starting position in England’s Euros campaign, Mainoo had a dreamlike 6 months with club and country. Unfortunately, ten Hag was sacked early in the next season, after a 2-1 loss to West Ham, and the club appointed Ruben Amorim from Sporting Lisbon. Mainoo was injured at this point, but returned to the starting 11 promptly. Beginning a more lacklustre spell, followed by yet another 2 months injured, the academy graduate suffered greatly from Amorim’s tactical changes. His most notable contribution to the season was a dramatic equaliser off the bench against Lyon, which helped United to a European final, where they were beaten in a terrible match against fellow league strugglers Tottenham.

Discourse between player and manager grew, until the kid from Stockport began considering his future. A local lad driven to leave his boyhood club, fans were outraged by these reports. Even Amorim’s most loyal supporters refused to concur with the Portuguese manager’s misuse of Mainoo. Several poor results later, and Ruben’s reds looked lost. The club took action, aided by the manager’s conflicting comments in the press, and yet another sacking occurred at Old Trafford. As we all know, it’s only been up since then.

New contract, new era. That’s what all Manchester United fans will be hoping for from their starboy midfielder, who put pen to paper until 2031 earlier this week. The last 12 months have been extremely tough for Mainoo, who lost his starting place to Amorim’s tactical disaster-class. Since Carrick’s appointment, he has started every game he has been available for, forming an excellent partnership with Brazilian veteran Casemiro. Silky on the ball, up and down the pitch relentlessly, Mainoo is getting closer and closer to being back to his best.

The England international hasn’t scored in the Premier League since the end of the 23/24 campaign, where he placed one in the bottom corner against Newcastle, but more relevantly, scored that Macheda-esque goal against today’s opponents, Liverpool. On the week of his new contract, against their biggest rivals, is it too good to be true? Maybe, but I’m backing Mainoo to score in a win for the Red Devils which sees them complete their first league double over Liverpool in 10 years.