Kobbie Mainoo was an unused substitute as Manchester United once again dropped points at Old Trafford in a draw against West Ham.
Manchester United failed to take advantage of those around them dropping points as they conceded a late equaliser to draw 1-1 with West Ham.
Ruben Amorim decided to bring Manuel Ugarte on to play alongside Casemiro in the middle and the Uruguayan was once again disappointing.
Kobbie Mainoo was left on the bench and the academy graduate still hasn’t started any Premier League games this season. He has played a total of 171 minutes in 14 games.
The 20-year-old was arguably United’s Player of the Year when he broke through in 2023/24 and topped off that campaign by scoring the winner in the FA Cup final against Manchester City. He was then one of England’s best players at Euro 2024.
But under Amorim, his fortunes have been flipped and he was denied the chance to leave the club on loan in the summer transfer window.
The reason why Mainoo isn’t starting for United is ‘accepted at Carrington’
Mainoo’s lack of football is something that confuses most fans as they know how impactful the young star can be when he is starting consistently.
Speaking on the Talk of the Devils podcast, Laurie Whitwell has explained how it is ‘accepted’ at Carrington that Mainoo’s lack of acceleration is the thing stopping him from breaking into Amorim’s team.
“I got told it’s acceleration right,” the journalist began. “So I think Amorim thinks he doesn’t have the burst of acceleration or the speed to get away from players in that no.8 position.
“This has kind of become an accepted thing at Carrington, I guess, but then you look at Kobbie… when you compare it to Bruno Fernandes, he doesn’t really have a burst of speed, does he? Casemiro certainly doesn’t and Ugarte, no.”
Mainoo’s absence doesn’t make sense
The argument that Mainoo lacks acceleration doesn’t seem to make much sense, as Whitwell pointed out, because the other options aren’t exactly experts in that department.
Mainoo’s physical problems seem to be blown way out of proportion. He was able to thrive in an Erik ten Hag team that regularly were set up in a way which meant the midfielders had to do too much work.
Then you look at some of the best midfielders in the Premier League. Is Adam Wharton more physically dominant than Mainoo? He is someone who United want to sign next summer.
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United were unable to hang on against West Ham because they could not control things when it got tense towards the end of the game. You want a player who can resist the press and keep things ticking and Mainoo is at his best when doing that.
But it seems like Amorim does not value those skills in his midfield and with the Portuguese boss seemingly having no pressure on his job from above, it’s hard to see how Mainoo breaks back into the team.
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