RUBEN AMORIM has told wantaway Kobbie Mainoo: “You have to do better.”
Midfielder Mainoo, 20, was keen to quit Manchester United before the transfer deadline because boss Amorim is not giving him enough game time.
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Italian champs Napoli were interested but the Red Devils were unwilling to sanction a loan exit for the England star.
Amorim ignored Mainoo while the window was still open but had a heart-to-heart during the international break — telling him he is not the finished product and could do more.
The Portuguese coach, whose side face Manchester City in today’s Manchester derby at the Etihad, said: “Like a lot of guys, he wants to play more.
“I didn’t have a conversation with him before the window closed but I did this week.
“I didn’t want him thinking I was having the conversation just to hold on to him. Some people think he is there but I think he can do so much better.
“For some guys it’s enough, for him it’s not enough. Maybe it’s not fair but I think I’m helping Kobbie Mainoo.
“I have the same feeling that you have. That he’s a top, top player. But he can be so much better. So I’m focused on that.
“He’s not used to fighting for his place, maybe. He is uncomfortable but he is a very good kid — and he is fighting.”
Mainoo looked set for superstardom when he scored for his boyhood club in their FA Cup final win over City and then started for England in the Euro 2024 final, despite defeat to Spain.
Amorim added: “I know he started the final of the European Championship in a team that has a lot of talented players.
“Phil Foden played that game. Cole Palmer was on the bench. He was playing. But sometimes I have a different way of seeing the game.”
The ex-Sporting Lisbon boss explained where he thinks Mainoo can improve.
The United boss added: “He needs to have the technical ability that he has but he needs more pace.
“He needs to play at different speeds. Sometimes he’s slower and sometimes he’s faster. He can improve on that.
“And then he has to beat Bruno Fernandes. He has to beat Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte. They are good players also. I need to choose.”
Amorim pointed to fellow Portuguese Vitinha, Paris Saint-Germain’s midfield general, as a player who once struggled but is now thriving.
He said: “Sometimes it’s about the opinion of a coach. I remember Vitinha was not playing for Wolves. Nowadays, Vitinha is maybe the best midfielder in the world.”
Man Utd’s transfer deals
IN
- Bryan Mbeumo – from Brentford – £71m
- Matheus Cunha – from Wolves – £62.5m
- Diego Leon – from Cerro Porteno – £7m
- Benjamin Sesko – from RB Leipzig – £74m
- Senne Lammens – from Royal Antwerp – £18m
TOTAL – £232.5m
OUT
- Alejandro Garnacho – to Chelsea – £40m
- Marcus Rashford – to Barcelona – Loan
- Victor Lindelof – released
- Christian Eriksen – released
- Toby Collyer – to West Brom – Loan
TOTAL – £40m