Kobbie Mainoo came on and made an impact during Manchester United's 3-0 defeat at Manchester City, and many have been calling for the England midfielder to start under Ruben Amorim
Kobbie Mainoo running vs Manchester City
Kobbie Mainoo came off the bench vs Manchester City
(Image: Pro Sports Images)
Gary Lineker has claimed that Kobbie Mainoo has been "dismissed" at Manchester United and is "baffled" about his lack of game time under Ruben Amorim.
Mainoo, 20, is yet to start a Premier League game for the Reds this season and was named on the bench for Sunday's bruising defeat at Manchester City.
However, the England international was introduced in the 62nd minute and impressed when he came on. Indeed, Mainoo had 25 touches, completed two key passes, recorded a 100 per cent success rate from his 17 passes, won three out of three duels and made one dribble.
Some United fans have since called on Amorim to start Mainoo against Chelsea on Saturday, as the Reds look to record just their second win of the season. The Stockport-born starlet has played just 73 minutes of Premier League football this term, having remained as an unused substitute against Arsenal and Fulham.
Now, ex-Leicester City and Tottenham forward Lineker has weighed in with his opinion on Mainoo's current situation and believes that his failure to get into the United XI is quite concerning.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker said: "It really worries me the way Kobbie Mainoo has been kind of almost dismissed. He’s such an incredible young talent, local boy as well doing really well.
"I mean, I thought when he came on, he did really quite well. I don't get it. I don’t know whether there's something that we don't know about or something like that, but it's slightly baffling to me."
Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker(Image: Getty Images)
United were beaten in comprehensive fashion in the end at the Etihad Stadium, as Erling Haaland scored a second-half brace to finish off the Reds after Phil Foden opened the scoring in the 18th minute.
"They just looked so poor," Lineker said on United. "One thing I would say, and in a way he knows how he wants his team to play, he might not have the players, but the one thing I would say, if you constantly tell everybody you’re going to continue playing the same way, does that not make your team very easy to plan against? So, City outnumbered them in midfield. They had too many bodies for them. They couldn't cope."
Amorim has come under increased pressure regarding his future after another crushing defeat, but the Portuguese retains the support of the United board for now, Manchester Evening News understands.
He has won just eight of his 31 Premier League matches in charge and United are bottom of a table consisting of the 17 ever-present top-flight teams dating back to his first match in charge on November 24.
A source close to Amorim admits it is "incredible" that his position is not under genuine threat despite 16 defeats in the 31 league matches.
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