Kobbie Mainoo has found a new lease of life under Michael Carrick, and Dimitar Berbatov is a huge fan of his one quality, which strikers love.
No benefit of hindsight was needed to come to the conclusion that Ruben Amorim was missing the point by not playing Kobbie Mainoo.
Even if there were some doubters, those have been silenced due to the way Mainoo walked into the first XI and picked up from where he left off pre-Amorim.
A major reason why that has happened has been picked up by Dimitar Berbatov, since one quality of his is a striker’s dream.
Manchester United's English midfielder #37 Kobbie Mainoo controls the ball
Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images
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Kobbie Mainoo at the end of the Premier League match between Manchester United and Aston Villa at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, in 2026.
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Kobbie Mainoo’s ‘first thought’ is always progressive
Amorim didn’t fancy Mainoo for a lot of reasons, but one of the key factors was his perceived inability to get the ball forward quickly.
It’s true that Mainoo is not someone who launches the ball upfield quickly and at every opportunity, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a progressive player.
Carrying the ball upfield, or playing zipped passes through the lines on the ground, are equally as effective ways of progression as hoofing it up and fighting for second balls.
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Berbatov, speaking on the Inside Carrington podcast, picked up on this detail that Mainoo’s ‘first thought’ when he receives the ball is to play it forwards.
He said: “There is a type of player that you love as a striker. His first thought is I need to play the ball forward. The first thought of a midfielder like Kobbie Mainoo, he plays more defensively, but his first thought is always to play forward.
“When you’re a striker, if you have someone like this, you’ll always try to be in a good position and ready.”
Dimitar Berbatov would’ve loved playing with Mainoo
There’s no surprise that Berbatov likes Mainoo as a player, because if the Bulgarian were a central midfielder instead of a striker, he’d be much like Mainoo.
How worried are you about Kobbie Mainoo not yet signing a new contract?
Kobbie Mainoo of Manchester United during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford on February 1, 2026
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Both have an effortless nonchalance to their game that can often look like a lack of effort, but making things look easy is the most difficult thing in the world.
In a footballing world that has become increasingly about intensity, athleticism, and physicality, players like Mainoo personify the brains over brawn.
Berbatov would have loved playing with Mainoo, as he’s someone who used to like having the ball on the ground, linking up play, and making those third-man runs after one-twos in close spaces.
Those are all traits Mainoo excels at, making him the perfect midfielder to pair alongside Berbatov.
Ruben Amorim would’ve discarded them both!
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