The future of Kobbie Mainoo at Manchester United remains in question ahead of the January transfer window, but for Andy Mitten, it comes as no surprise.
Ruben Amorim quite clearly doesn’t think Kobbie Mainoo is ready for Manchester United.
Despite claiming that Mainoo deserves to be playing, actions speak louder than words, and just 183 minutes all season in the Premier League show how the 20-year-old is rated.
Ruben Amorim admitted coaches can be wrong about a player when discussing Kobbie Mainoo
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Amorim/Mainoo/Vitinha
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The result of this, Mainoo is being chased by European sides like Napoli for a loan.
Amorim’s treatment of Mainoo has been a surprise to many, but not to Andy Mitten.
Kobbie Mainoo playing against Wolves
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Ruben Amorim wasn’t impressed by Kobbie Mainoo from day one
While already a gifted footballer, Amorim is currently urging Mainoo to improve off the ball, with this being one weakness in his game.
Amorim’s reluctance to use Mainoo stretches back to last season, when he played the 20-year-old in various positions but rarely central midfield.
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Andy Mitten has now revealed on the Talk of the Devils podcast that this is no shock to him, as he heard very early on that Mainoo wasn’t catching Amorim’s eye.
“We’ve touched on the reasons why the manager doesn’t fancy him as much as other players, which go right back to when the manager first came in, to when Ruben Amorim first came in.
“It’s not a new issue at all. I was told that within a couple of weeks, the line put to me was that Kobbie needs to do more to prove to this manager that he should be starting, and he’s not had a good year, has he?
Kobbie Mainoo hasn’t been helping himself at Manchester United
It would be completely unfair to write Mainoo off based on the past 18 months, as last season saw injuries and physical changes that he has been working to overcome.
However, considering Amorim had set the gauntlet of how he needs to do more to impress him, the 20-year-old hasn’t exactly set the world alight.
In very limited opportunities, Mainoo hasn’t been able to build any momentum, and therefore, he can’t earn a spot in Amorim’s starting line-up.
Paul Scholes has labelled it unfair to Mainoo, suggesting he depart the club.
Obviously, ideally, Mainoo would get a run of games in the team to re-find match sharpness, but that isn’t going to happen while Casemiro is in such great form, and therefore, he needs to start giving 110% in these cameos; it’s the only way he can convince Amorim.
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