Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Paul Scholes believes Manchester United’s midfield pairing of Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans cannot work.
Through five Premier League games to start the season, Manchester United have only won one of them.
Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans have started four of the five league games, plus the Champions League win over Sabah. Andrey Santos and Tielemans started the opening defeat against Hull.
Scholes believes Mainoo and Tielemans are simply too similar to be effective as a pairing.
He told The Good, The Bad & The Football: “I think Kobbie Mainoo and Tielemans they’re never going to really win you the ball back. They’re never going to be aggressive to win the ball back. They’re very much the same player really.
“Technically brilliant, can pass a ball. Of course they can receive a ball. But when you talk about the nitty gritty horrible things of games, it’s just not in them.”
Scholes has previously been on record expressing his admiration for Mainoo, describing him as a better player at his age than he was.
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United fans respond to Scholes claims
Paul Scholes’ comments have generated some discussion on TalkingPoints, with a split reaction.
One fan expressed his view that both players are too ‘forward thinking’ and don’t have the defensive instincts to cover each other.
Another said he is looking forward to seeing Carlos Baleba make his Manchester United debut, which has the potential to change the midfield dynamic.
United In Focus writer Dale O’Donnell says he disagrees with Scholes and feels that Mainoo and Tielemans should be a functional pairing to help United dominate possession in games.
But similarly, he is also excited to see what Baleba can do to put his stamp on the team.
Statistics don’t support Scholes claim
Paul Scholes’ specific gripe was that Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans do not win the ball back enough in midfield.
However, statistics show that Mainoo has won possession back for the team more times than any player in the Premier League, 39 times in total. Youri Tielemans has made 20 ball recoveries.
United selected Mainoo and Tielemans together as a pairing against City, and even when the game was 11 v 11, they were getting the better of the midfield.
There can be two truths to all of this.
Mainoo and Tielemans can play together
United’s best pairing may require only one of them
Mainoo and Baleba will get extra time on the training pitch together, with neither player going away on international duty. There is a strong chance this is the pairing we see for the Red Devils’ next fixture, against Tottenham.