I find it a little sad how quickly a lot of fans are to write off Kobbie Mainoo. Last season he was great for Manchester United, he has a lot of talent, is homegrown and is one of the players we should ideally be keeping (although given our financial position, I would understand the club accepting a huge offer for him, while still feeling disappointed seeing him leave). I’m not sure how people have come to the conclusion that he definitely doesn’t suit what Ruben Amorim wants from his midfielders.
Firstly, who actually knows what Amorim wants? Has he told you? I hear people say that he wants quick, mobile players in midfield. Which seems odd when you consider he played both Palhinha and Hjulmand as key starting midfielders while at Sporting. Neither of which are quick or mobile players. In fact, both tend to rely on their reading of the game to position themselves in the right place at the right time.
Maybe he does want a more athletic midfielder than what Kobbie is right now. But I don’t think anyone can say with any level of certainty that Kobbie isn’t a player Amorim wants. Remember the pictures / videos from his first training session with us, he made a beeline for Kobbie and at that time it very much looked like Mainoo was a player Amorim wanted to work with.
Personally, I think that people over hyped Mainoo last year due to how dire we were. Now when I say that I don’t mean that he can’t get to the levels that he was hyped up to. Just that he is 19 years old, in his second season in professional football, and he has suffered quite a bit with persistent injuries this season.
Maybe the injuries are a symptom of being over played last season, or travelling with England and not having a summer break, it could be that his body is still growing and developing, or maybe all of the above. While many young players have a bright first season, then take a step back in their second season before kicking on afterwards.
He’s still a kid, but is expected to be a regular first choice in a vital position, in a team that is being rebuilt and in a state of flux. I think we need another more experienced midfielder to come in and be the regular first choice alongside Ugarte while Kobbie develops as the third choice option. First option off the bench or to rotate into the starting lineup when we rest players. Give him a chance to develop his game, learn his role, and grow fully into his adult body.
Looking at our current options for the midfield, we have Ugarte, Mainoo, Casemiro, Eriksen, Collyer as first team options. With maybe Kone as an academy player who could possibly come into the first team squad next season. Casemiro and Eriksen both need to move on, and likely will in the summer. Selling Mainoo would leave us with just Ugarte and Collyer, we’d need to sign at least two midfielders if we sold Mainoo. Which given our need to sign at least a couple players up front, in defence and probably in goal as well, just doesn’t seem likely.
While Mainoo would raise funds, it also creates a hole that would need replacing. And while I would rather keep Garnacho as well, I can at least see why he would be a logical option to sell. Mainoo naturally fits in both the midfield position and the inside forward positions in the 3-4-2-1 shape we play under Amorim.
Garnacho cannot play as a wingback, and his current skill set doesn’t ideally suit one of the inside forward positions. He plays with his head down and needs space to run into. He is much better off starting in a wider position and moving into the inside channels once he has the ball. He seems to play far too much off of instinct rather than intellect.
I think Garnacho will require far more coaching and developing to become a top player in Amorim’s system / style of play. While his attitude has been brought into question on a couple of occasions now as well. For those reasons, I can see why sacrificing him to raise funds makes more sense. The money he would bring in would allow us to bring in a couple of players who immediately improve our starting lineup, rather than hoping that he can develop into the player we want over the next couple of seasons.
While Mainoo would also raise the funds to bring in two first choice players, he is also more capable of stepping into the team and doing what the manager wants right now. I think we’d be crazy to sell both, and ideally I’d want us to keep both of them. I don’t like the idea of Manchester United selling highly rated former academy players who have the potential to be first choice players. But I appreciate the position we find ourselves in.
Personally, if I had to choose between selling Mainoo or Garnacho, I’d make the tough decision to move on Garnacho.
Written by Shappy March 29 2025 12:00:17
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