Kobbie

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

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It was in Chicago that Amorim first said Mainoo would be in competition with Fernandes this season.

Although he was also keen to stress both men could play in different positions, Amorim clearly feels the pair are best suited to the advanced midfield role in his system, which for Mainoo is a clear problem.

How realistic is it that he can oust the captain from the United side, at least in the short-term?

In truth, Mainoo is a victim of his own success.

The Stockport-born player emerged so quickly and came into a team struggling so often, he was almost a totem.

Yet the fabulous end to the 2023-24 campaign masked positional deficiencies in Mainoo’s game that were apparent as United’s midfield was routinely overrun. At the Euros, he had Declan Rice covering him.

As last season began Mainoo’s confidence and form dipped, and he was injured when Erik ten Hag was sacked and Amorim took his place.

Mainoo was prominent in Amorim’s starting line-ups from December onwards, but that meant he was involved in a string of damaging defeats.

He was injured again in February and, by the time he returned, Amorim was targeting the Europa League – meaning his only starts to the end of the season were in the Premier League. Three of those games were lost, the other, at Bournemouth, was a draw.

It was against that backdrop Amorim made his summer call on Mainoo.

He feels the competition for places will help his side and the midfielder, who he says boasts quick feet, an excellent passing range and invaluable speed in tight spaces, will benefit.

Evidently, Mainoo feels the evidence of the opening two league games only points to extended spells on the sidelines, frustration and stunted progress.

ONE year ago, having nicely slotted into England’s midfield at Euro 2024, it seemed Kobbie Mainoo could do no wrong.

But now the Manchester United star is already at a crossroads in his career at the age of 20 — with only the love of the fans for comfort.

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After joining United at the age of six, the thought of Mainoo leaving Old Trafford is unthinkable for many supporters.

But the Stockport lad continues to face a brutal battle to secure a spot in the 4-3-2-1 system of manager Ruben Amorim.

His emergence in the 2023–24 season under former boss Erik ten Hag felt like the long-awaited unveiling of United’s next midfield maestro.

Mainoo — who, along with Alejandro Garnacho, became the first teenager to score in the FA Cup final since Cristiano Ronaldo’s strike against Millwall in 2004 — was considered the future of the club.

Weeks after his Wembley triumph, Mainoo’s vision and composure solved Gareth Southgate’s midfield conundrum during England’s surge to the Euros final.

He was regarded as one of Europe’s brightest talents.

That was highlighted by his third-place finish in last year’s Kopa Trophy, which is awarded to the world’s best under-21 talent and was won by Lamine Yamal.

But the youngster suffered the first major setback of his career just months after the Euros as he missed 17 games when fatigue brought about two different muscle injuries.

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And Mainoo, whose contract talks stalled months ago, now has two new managers to impress in Amorim and Thomas Tuchel — and it seems the former is not keen at all.

Unlike ex-England boss Southgate, Amorim seems to lack faith in the academy graduate to fix United’s midfield mess.

In the week former Red Devils star Scott McTominay earned a Ballon d’Or nod, Amorim ramped up his search for upgrades on Manuel Ugarte, 24, and veteran Casemiro, 33.

That search led United to make contact with Brighton about a potential move for 21-year-old holding midfielder Carlos Baleba, who the Seagulls value at £100million.

Mainoo, who has beefed his body up this summer, looked at home as a No 8 for two pre-season games during their US tour.

But new arrivals Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha are set to start the season as the two No 10s, meaning skipper Bruno Fernandes is expected to make a permanent switch to a deeper midfield role.

The only reasonable spot left for Mainoo would be next to Fernandes in the double pivot — but Casemiro and Ugarte seem to hold favour there.

With United out of Europe, there will not be as many opportunities to play in the reduced schedule.

MAN UTD PLAYER RATINGS: Bryan Mbeumo eases pressure on Bruno Fernandes but Matheus Cunha lacks sharpness vs Fiorentina

BRYAN MBEUMO showed fans what they’ve been missing as Manchester United beat Fiorentina 5-4 on penalties in their final pre-season friendly.

United were a mixed bag in their final summer warm-up game- and the only one at Old Trafford – before the start of the new season next Sunday.

United unveiled their four new signings but it was Benjamin Sesko – who was announced from RB Leipzig before kick-off – that got the loudest roar from fans.

And this match proved how much they needed him…

Here’s how SunSport’s Man Utd reporter Katherine Walsh rated the players…

And if Mainoo keeps warming the bench, it does not bode well for his chances of making Three Lions boss Tuchel’s squad for the World Cup next summer.

Mainoo got the last 20 minutes of United’s final pre-season friendly against Fiorentina on Saturday, before his team-mates made a beeline for him after he scored the penalty-shootout winner after a 1-1 draw.

It has gone quiet on the new contract and bumped-up wages front for Mainoo.

The club have struggled to nail him down to fresh terms, with Chelsea and Tottenham now waiting with open arms.

While fellow Cup final scorer and academy graduate Garnacho is up for sale, losing Mainoo would be a devastating blow.

He is a Mancunian through-and-through and a boyhood fan.

With the 1958 United supporter group set to protest against Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazers before Sunday’s Prem opener against Arsenal, their outrage would pale in comparison to the grief of losing Mainoo — and especially to a rival.

Man Utd’s transfer deals

IN

• Bryan Mbeumo – from Brentford – £71m
• Matheus Cunha – from Wolves – £62.5m
• Diego Leon – from Cerro Porteno – £7m

TOTAL – £140.5m

OUT

• Victor Lindelof – released
• Christian Eriksen – released

TOTAL – £0m

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