Kobbie Mainoo has regained his spot in the Manchester United team under Michael Carrick, to the delight of fans.
Ruben Amorim’s decision to snub Kobbie Mainoo from his team selections was always treated by suspicion by Manchester United fans.
Mainoo is a player who scored the winner in the FA Cup Final and starred at Euro 2024 as a teenager. How could he have possibly lost a step so suddenly?
Since Amorim’s sacking, his flawed reasoning for omitting Mainoo has been exposed, with the midfielder returning to the starting line-up with immediate success.
Mainoo has started three games under Michael Carrick, with Manchester United winning all three.
So what exactly is going right?
Is Ruben Amorim not playing Kobbie Mainoo the worst decision you can remember from a recent Man Utd manager?
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Kobbie Mainoo’s impact
While Kobbie Mainoo is capable of scoring goals, evidenced by previous strikes against Wolves, City, Liverpool and Lyon, it is not the main part of his game. He has only seven in 89 appearances.
What Mainoo has brought is a combination of calmness and passing quality to United’s midfield.
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Mainoo is United’s connector, a player who knits it all together and is the perfect partner for Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes. Matheus Cunha’s winner against Arsenal was the perfect example, with Mainoo’s quick intricate passes helping get the ball to the Brazilian to score.
Kobbie Mainoo dribbles for Manchester United.
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
To date in the Premier League this season, Mainoo has recorded a passing accuracy of 88.5 per cent. This is the highest of any midfield or forward player in the United squad.
Mainoo isn’t necessarily passing at a high volume, but what he does do is measured and efficient and plays an important understated role in the team’s build-up. His precision in an often-tight midfield area is an important asset to the team.
Since his return to the team, Mainoo has particularly impressed with his off-ball work. He set a season record for any player with his running in the Manchester Derby, covering 7.9 kilometres out of possession.
Mainoo is attempting more than seven tackles per 90 minutes, recording a 52 per cent success rate.
That means he has attempted 44 tackles in 508 minutes, a rate of 7.7 per game.
For context, Arsenal’s Declan Rice has attempted 99 tackles in almost four-times the minutes (1,966) at only 5.45 attempts per game.
Most impressively Mainoo has regained the ball 71 times, showing his quick anticipation and reading of the game. Rice meanwhile has only done so 37 times this season.
Ruben Amorim cast doubt over Mainoo’s work off the ball, but the midfielder’s performances and his numbers indicate he is delivering.
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Kobbie Mainoo during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in 2026 in London, England.
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
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The project for Michael Carrick
Kobbie Mainoo is only 20-years-old and nobody is making the case that he is the finished product.
Amorim took it to the other extreme, shutting Mainoo out and deciding not to hand him a single Premier League start in the first half of the 2025/26 season.
Mainoo’s performances have underlined what Manchester United fans already knew, that the academy graduate is a very good prospect who the club must nurture.
Current head coach Michael Carrick is the best possible tutor, a midfield great for Manchester United during his playing career. Mainoo has all the tools, and he can reach an even higher level.
Carrick knows the tricks of the trade, sharing the same calm temperament as Mainoo, and with no European football, he has additional time on the training ground to work with him.
Mainoo is the perfect project for Carrick, and even if the head coach is replaced in the summer, these few months could shape the young midfielder’s career.
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