Kobbie Mainoo: Ruben Amorim says midfielder ‘can achieve this a lot better’

There is evidence to back up Amorim’s argument.

In that 2023-24 breakthrough season Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho were United’s standout stars. Yet the FA Cup final win was the only thing that kept Erik ten Hag in a job and history now shows it would have been better for all sides if the Dutchman had left after that Wembley triumph.

An eighth-place finish in the Premier League was repeatedly described as being not good enough by United’s powerbrokers.

Mainoo and Garnacho had excelled in a badly underperforming team. It is possible the plaudits they received were excessive.

With England, Mainoo was part of a midfield in which Declan Rice provided the on-pitch assurance and experience Casemiro could not at Old Trafford. When Mainoo should have been learning from the Brazilian, he was effectively competing with him for a place in Ten Hag’s side.

Now Amorim, with his 3-4-3 system, is trying to get Mainoo to deliver the performances he demands.

“The way I play is completely different from the last manager,” said Amorim.

“I watched a lot of Premier League games when I was in Portugal. You can feel the Manchester United team was really transitional.

“Sometimes I looked at Kobbie Mainoo and felt he was the only guy who calmed the game down. Now we have other players who can do that and we play a different game.

“Kobbie is really good at controlling the game, but if he plays as an eight he has to reach the box and return. Sometimes he has to cover a lot of space with just two [players].

“He could play as a six (defensive midfielder) but sometimes he passes the ball and goes away, which is not a reference as a six.

“We have to balance everything. He has the technical ability but he needs to understand the position better. He needs to play in different speeds – sometimes lower, sometimes faster. He can improve on that.”

With Mount, Matheus Cunha and Diogo Dalot ruled out of the trip to Etihad Stadium, Mainoo could start against City, in the number eight slot – with Fernandes pushed higher – in one of the two positions behind a main striker, or even as the ‘false’ nine.

Amorim has other options, though, which could condemn Mainoo to the bench again.

Either way, Mainoo’s United future until January is determined. Now all he can do is work hard and have faith when the coach says he will pick every team on merit, not reputation.