One Manchester United star has been urged to demand the ball more next season as he looks to work his way back into Ruben Amorim’s side.
Manchester United are looking to bounce back from a terrible collective campaign last term and their pre-season is already well underway.
Ruben Amorim has welcomed three new signings to his squad in Matheus Cunha, Diego Leon and Bryan Mbeumo but further improvements are needed.
The Reds do not only need additional signings, but also to see some of the underperformers from last term show much better levels on the pitch.
Plenty of players within Amorim’s squad are good enough to compete towards the top of the Premier League table and have to put their poor form behind them.
United star urged to demand ball more
One of those who will be keen to improve from last season is Kobbie Mainoo, who had a difficult time during his second campaign as a professional.
Injuries impacted the 20-year-old but he also struggled to find a role in Amorim’s system. He played in deeper midfield during the opening pre-season game against Leeds.
Regardless of whether he is in that role or higher up, Clayton Blackmore believes that the United youngster must start demanding the ball more when he’s on the pitch.
The ex-United defender believes that Mainoo is ‘really good’ on the ball but has seen him ‘fade a bit out’ of too many games as he doesn’t demand passes enough.
“I don’t know about Mainoo. I think he needs to do a bit more. When he’s got the ball I think he is really good, but he doesn’t seem to get on the ball enough,” Blackmore said.
“I would like both him and the team to get a lot more on the ball around the edge of the box, because Mainoo is very smooth with his movement.”
“He is a very strong player, but I have seen a lot of games where he will do something very good but will then fade a bit out.”
Mainoo can make tradeoff worthwhile
Mainoo is at his best when regularly involved in the game and it is fair to say that he didn’t put his stamp on enough matches last term.
It does seem like the Academy graduate wants to break into that deeper midfield role and he has come back to pre-season in brilliant shape.
While concerns exist about his ability off the ball, Mainoo can put those to bed by helping United on the ball. If he can start helping the Reds control games then it’s a trade-off worth having.
But as Blackmore says, we need to see some more authority from the midfielder going forward. He should trust his ability on the ball and to start dictating games more.
Clayton Blackmore was speaking to AceOdds.com
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