Kobbie Mainoo once revealed that Ole Gunnar Solskjær played a major role in his development just before his breakout season at Manchester United.
Kobbie Mainoo is regarded as one of Manchester United’s most gifted Academy graduates of the past two decades. The young midfielder enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2023/24, earning a place in England’s Euro squad and capping the season by scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup final.
His role at the club diminished, however, following Erik ten Hag’s dismissal and the arrival of Rúben Amorim in November 2024. Under the new head coach, Mainoo found himself on the fringes of the starting XI and was restricted to only sporadic appearances.
That situation worsened during the first half of the 2025/26 season, with Mainoo failing to start a single Premier League match. Reports suggested he was pushing for a January loan move to Napoli in a bid to secure regular minutes and reignite a development that had begun to stall.
Now, after Amorim’s own sacking earlier this week, uncertainty surrounds Mainoo’s next step, with the latest news now claiming that the midfielder wishes to remain at Old Trafford.
Solskjær played key role in Mainoo’s senior development
Ten Hag is the first-team manager who rightly takes a lot of credit for Mainoo’s breakout campaign, having been the boss who put significant faith in the Academy star.
However, in a previous interview with TNT Sports, the talented starlet revealed it was actually Ole Gunnar Solskjær who gave him his first chance with the senior side in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Old Trafford.
It was like a behind-closed-doors friendly at Old Trafford,” Mainoo recalled when asked what his first-ever experience was with the first team.
“I’d just played a couple of days before. Under-18s coach comes to me and says, ‘Oh, the first team need a player like you. Do you feel like your body’s okay?’ Because I just played a game, and I was just like, ‘Yeah!’.”
When asked to clarify who the United boss was at the time, Mainoo then confirmed it was Solskjær.
What’s the latest on Solskjær’s return?
Solskjær is reportedly a name on the shortlist to become United’s caretaker manager until the end of the season following Amorim’s sacking, but the process is far from complete.
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According to a number of reports, Solskjær and former Red Michael Carrick are the pair on top of the shortlist, although the idea that they could work together has been shut down.
Solskjær is reportedly currently edging it as the favourite to take over, although United’s decision makers are said to be relaxed about the situation and are not rushing to make a final decision before the club’s FA Cup tie against Brighton on Sunday afternoon.
Darren Fletcher, currently managing the side, will be on the sidelines for the knockout clash, but it’s expected that whoever is made caretaker will be in charge of the fixture next weekend against Manchester City.
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