Scholes, Carrick, Can he be the next? Kobbie Mainoo

Profile

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Name

 

Kobbie Mainoo

 

Birth

 

19th April 2005

 

 

Belong

 

National team : England

Club : Manchester United

Position

 

Midfielder

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This friend is a something.

Born in 2005, he is only 18 years old as of 2024, but he is very stable on the Premier League stage.

There has always been at least one outstanding midfielder in England throughout the ages.
The representative players are often referred to as Scholes, Lampard, and Gerrard.
Before that, there were Bobby Charlton, Bryan Robson, and Gascoigne, 
and after that, Michael Carrick and Milner.

And now there are Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.

Personally, I think if Kobbie Mainoo chooses the English national team, it will be the next name to be mentioned.

For reference, Mainoo, born in England, holds dual citizenship in Ghana, so both England and Ghana are currently working hard to take him to their national team.

Mainoo, who has gone through Manchester United Youth, is currently playing in the Premier League as a key player for Manchester United's first division.
His position is a central midfielder. He is a talent who can play both an attacking role and a defensive role.
In the current team, he plays the role of building up from the center.

I personally think his style of play resembles that of Scholes.

Scholes was told that he played like a Spanish player even though he was an English player during his active career.
English players have a rough but powerful feeling, while Spanish players have a soft but delicate feeling, and that's exactly what Scholes was like.
Scholes was excellent in his ability to solve games with delicate touches and excellent passing skills.

Mainoo has a similar tendency.

He has good touch and pass skills, and is also good at pressure release. It shows a level beyond what is expected of an 18-year-old midfielder.

Most importantly, I think the best thing of him is his calmness.

When you watch the game, you can see his calmness to an unbelievable extent.
Particularly in the physically strong and pressing Premier League, he does not show any embarrassment or urgency against players who are pushing hard.
Thanks to this calmness, he can fully utilize his touch and pressure-release skills, 

so I think he is competitive in the Premier League even at a young age and being appointed as a key player in the first division.

Of course naturally, there are also disadvantages.
Most of them are revealed due to lack of experience, especially in the defensive part.
He gives up unnecessary fouls because the tackle timing is not well adjusted.
Fortunately, he doesn't make big mistakes, which is an area where he can grow as he gains experience.

From Manchester United's point of view, the emergence of Kobbie Mainoo is like a fortune.

If you look at the midfielders who represented England, written above, many of the players who have already retired for a long time were members of Manchester United.
Bobby Charlton, Bryan Robson, Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick.

However, the tradition was virtually cut off after Carrick.

Not only the English players, but the entire Manchester United team suffered from a midfielder famine.

Many players have gone through, but no player can say that they succeeded.
Fred and Herrera kept the midfield strong for about one or two seasons, but that period was short.
Fellaini, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Pogba, etc., all failed.

Only recently, in the 22/23 season, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro joined the team, strengthening the midfield, but even this became difficult in the 23/24 season.
Eriksen's form decline due to injury was noticeable, and Casemiro also showed noticeable injuries and form declines.
Considering the age of the two players, time cannot be ignored too.

It is time for a generational change, and Mainoo appeared surprisingly.

While Mason Mount, who was brought in for a large sum of money, was absent for a long time due to injury, a youth academy graduate took over with outstanding skills.

I have high expectations for Mainoo, who can take charge of the midfield for more than 10 years for Manchester United.

It will be an interesting point to see how Mainoo grows.