Rio Ferdinand leapt to Kobbie Mainoo's defence after the Manchester United midfielder's resurgence under Michael Carrick, with Roy Keane vocal on the issue earlier in the 2025/26 campaign
Kobbie Mainoo of Manchester United arrives
Kobbie Mainoo has looked sharp since returning to the Manchester United starting XI(Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
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Rio Ferdinand has pointed out how Kobbie Mainoo's displays since returning to the Manchester United team under Michael Carrick have demolished a claim Roy Keane made about the midfielder earlier in the season.
Prior to Carrick's appointment as United's interim manager until the campaign's end, Mainoo hadn't featured from the start in the Premier League at all in 2025/26. That's now shifted with starts in all four wins since the 44-year-old took charge at Old Trafford, and fresh terms are being discussed.
Emphasising the 20-year-old's revival, he successfully completed 33 of 35 attempted final-third passes during United's 2-0 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur, topping the division in this metric last weekend.
This specific aspect of Mainoo's game had previously been challenged by former United boss Ruben Amorim, whilst the England international's commitment had been questioned by United icon Keane.
Last October as Mainoo was relegated to the substitutes' bench for United's victory over Liverpool at Anfield, Keane told Sky Sports: "It obviously seems to be a problem for Mainoo getting into this team.
"The word coming out is they don't think he can cover the ground that quickly, but if you look at Man Utd's other midfielders they've got, they're not great at that either.
"As a young player, he has to suck that up and work hard, and when he gets a chance, he has to take it.
"A young player with good potential cannot be guaranteed a place in United's team. But it will come down to the player himself. Your job every day, every week, is to make sure the manager puts you in the team.
"If the manager deep down doesn't fancy him? I don't know. We will find that out in the next few weeks. Because if he doesn't fancy him, he might have to move him on."
Fast-forward to February 2026, and fellow United icon Ferdinand reckons the young midfielder's commitment in training should never have been questioned.
"We asked the question. 'Is he working? Is he doing what the manager is asking him? Is he putting physical mileage on the training ground?' There's no doubt in my mind that you run the amount that he has; it's concrete that he was working when he wasn't in the team," the former defender said, speaking on his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.
"The tank is empty at 60 minutes, you are on the floor when you haven't been playing for a while, and then you start. He must be doing some real work. I tip my hat to Kobbie Mainoo."
Also weighing in on the matter following United's fourth straight Premier League win was Gary Lineker, who went so far as to joke Mainoo ought to consider suing his previous manager Amorim.
"He's taken a year out of that kid's career. This kid is a wonderful footballer," Lineker shared on The Rest is Football podcast.
"God, he makes it look so easy. He wants the ball, he receives it with anyone around him and he turns, always makes the right decisions, he's graceful.
"I mean, come on! He's been absolutely detrimental to his career."