Kobbie Mainoo has had a very difficult season at Manchester United and will be hoping to turn his fortunes back around when the team returns to action next term.
Manchester United were terrible last season and many players failed to impress under Ruben Amorim across the campaign.
Kobbie Mainoo played just five minutes in the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao, as the team ended their season on a disappointing note.
A year earlier, the young midfielder had been named Man of the Match at Wembley after scoring the winner in the FA Cup final against Manchester City.
Introduced to the first team by Erik ten Hag, Mainoo made an immediate impact, showing composure and maturity well beyond his years in an often disjointed United side.
However, the last year has been more challenging, and some supporters are now questioning whether the Academy graduate has a future under Amorim, with rumours about a potential exit swirling.
Mainoo makes significant move after United struggles
It feels very unlikely that United would sell Mainoo, especially with the planned departure of Alejandro Garnacho, but there are clear doubts about his role at Old Trafford now.
Amorim has not used him in the deeper role in midfield – where most people say is his best position – for several months and instead opted to play him in the no.10 positions.
This is partly down to Mainoo’s impressive ball manipulation in those advanced areas, but also because the United boss doesn’t seem to trust him physically in that deeper role.
There is no reason that Mainoo cannot build that physicality back up. It’s easy to forget that part of the reason for his struggles was initially being overplayed and then suffering multiple injury setbacks.
Now, according to information from Muppetiers, Mainoo is working with a club-appointed strength and conditioning coach over the summer, with the aim to improve his speed and explosiveness.
This will be music to the ears of Amorim, who has shown that he’s willing to be proven wrong by players like Casemiro. If the 20-year-old can display his abilities, he will get back in the team.
Mainoo doesn’t need to be stuck in one role
It seems like a lot of the conversation around Mainoo is based on his position in Amorim’s system. Will he be the no.10 long-term or the deeper midfielder?
But in reality, it doesn’t seem like an important topic. Mainoo needs to focus on improving that physicality like he is after suffering those injury setbacks and start playing consistently again.
There is no need to shoehorn him into one role and Amorim needs to be able to use him in both positions depending on the opposition. You don’t always need two runners in midfield, and players like Mainoo have the ability to transform the dynamic.
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Operating in a more advanced role can also be valuable for his development — it’s easy to overlook that he’s still only just turned 20, and exposure to different positions will only help him become a more complete player.
The bigger concern is building a more cohesive and competitive team around him. Mainoo has had to emerge during one of the most difficult periods in the club’s recent history, which has made his progress all the more challenging.
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