Ex-Man United academy coach says Kobbie Mainoo has surprising attribute fans are yet to see

One former Manchester United academy coach has claimed that Kobbie Mainoo has a surprising attribute fans are yet to see in the first-team.

Kobbie Mainoo broke through into the first-team at Manchester United last season after making his debut in 2022/23 and has not looked back since.

The midfielder was one of the players of the season for Erik ten Hag last term and was even a contender for England’s Player of the Tournament at Euro 2024.

His development throughout the Academy at Carrington has given him all of the tools to be a great player for the club in the years to come.

However, the talented midfield player was not always deployed in the engine room and started his youth career as a striker.

Former United youth coach Neil Harris, who spent over 20 years at the club, explains the different attributes he had as a young centre-forward which have helped his transition into a deeper player.

“We had Kobbie [Mainoo] at the [under]-13s and he was a centre-forward, a really talented centre-forward because he was outstanding at holding up the ball,” Harris said on The Overlap’s Breakdown channel.

“I remember bringing him back to centre midfield that summer and that was the season where Modric was flying, Dembele was flying at Tottenham. Those players who can pick up the ball, drop a shoulder…

“It was that evolvement… I remember people at the time saying, ‘Oh, he’s a really good centre-forward, he holds the ball up, he brings people in well’.”

Harris also mentions one surprising aspect in which Mainoo is ‘the best’ he’s ever worked with – heading the ball.

“He was [also] an outstanding headerer of the ball,” he added. “I don’t know how much we’ve seen of him heading the ball but he’s the best headerer of the ball I’ve ever worked with.”

Of course, we haven’t exactly seen that in the first-team at Old Trafford but it is certainly interesting to note.

Should he continue to grow, it certainly wouldn’t hurt if Mainoo was able to start making significant differences in both boxes in the air.

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