It’s no secret that Man United’s 18-year-old, Kobbie Mainoo, is an incredibly talented football player.
As he recently showed in the match against Everton, he has no fear of playing in the Premier League.
Two more appearances in the past week, against Galatasaray in the Champions League and Newcastle in Saturday night’s match up, suggests that Erik ten Hag is beginning to trust the youngster.
Where Mainoo excels is that the exuberance of youth has been harnessed by having the right mentality, which is unusual in someone so young and, relatively, inexperienced.
It suggests an old head on young shoulders and that bodes very well indeed for the Red Devils.
Certainly, as Fabrizio Romano notes, the club are very excited by the prospect of seeing him develop.
‘Kobbie Mainoo is a very talented midfielder with great potential who made a great impact against Everton,’ he wrote in his exclusive Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside.
‘Man United coaching staff and Erik ten Hag are really, really excited by this boy. He’s a hard worker, super professional and those at the club love the way he shows his quality every single day in training. The right mentality is something very important for young players and it looks like Kobbie Mainoo has something special.’
After another disappointing reverse against Newcastle, Man United’s supporters will want some good news to hold onto, and the fact that the club appear to have secured Mainoo’s future is surely something to shout about.
‘In recent weeks we heard rumours about Manchester City already planning to attack the situation and try to sign him for the future, but what I wanted to say guys is that obviously all the top clubs, not just in England but also in different countries, know this boy very well,’ Romano continued.
‘At the same time Man United feel protected. They’ve been smart with the timing to extend the player’s contract and he’ll be their player until 2027. From what I’m told there is also an option on the club side to extend the contract for a fourth season until 2028.’
From Erik ten Hag’s point of view, Mainoo is precisely the sort of player that he was used to working with at Ajax. Young, hard-working and talented.
The Dutchman appears much more successful in his development of young players than managing big names, and that may yet cause him more issues than he’d like.