Ten Hag believes Man Utd are on the up ahead of Everton trip
Erik ten Hag was evidently talking sense back in August when he claimed that Kobbie Mainoo was ‘ready’ to take on Manchester United’s defensive midfield role. The teenager showed exactly why the club’s coaching staff rate him so highly during Sunday’s win over Everton.
Mainoo has had to wait patiently for his opportunity to impress. He performed well on United’s pre-season tour, but sustained an ankle injury in July which kept him out of action for four months.
Ten Hag made no secret of how big a miss Mainoo would be, not hesitating to pile extra pressure on his shoulders by tipping him to make the deep-lying midfielder role his own. Before kick-off at Goodison Park, the Dutchman explained how the international break had been used to bring the youngster up to speed in preparation for the resumption of domestic football.
Sure enough, Mainoo was thrown straight in from the start, and despite lining up alongside established professionals such as Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire, he showed more composure than anyone else on the pitch.
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Mainoo has the peculiar trait, which is generally reserved for the classiest stars, of appearing to play the game at a walking pace while also popping up all over the pitch.
Defensively the 18-year-old was superb against the Toffees. His vital clearance off the line to deny Dwight McNeil prevented Everton from drawing level after Alejandro Garnacho’s stunning opener, and his willingness to eat up ground set the tone for the rest of his team-mates to weather a wave of pressure from the hosts before the interval.
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Mainoo kept things simple in possession, as is expected for a deep-sitting midfielder, looking after the ball well and picking his moments to burst into life. He received the ball from the goalkeeper and the defenders and turned to start attacking moves.
Much like club legend Paul Scholes, he appeared to know the destination of his next pass long before the ball arrived at his feet.
That kind of composure was provided primarily by Casemiro last season, but with the Brazilian’s standards falling significantly this term, Mainoo could play a key role if he remains fit. Ten Hag withdrew the Stockport-born midfielder with 20 minutes to play, perhaps with an eye on the trip to Galatasaray on Wednesday.
It’s clear that United supporters will be seeing plenty more of him this campaign, with Ten Hag previously scrambling to find calming influences and players who can control games during a turbulent start to 2023/24.
Against Everton, Mainoo proved that he can do exactly that. The England Under-19 international’s stellar display was not the only positive for the Red Devils stew on, as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial netted to supplement Garnacho’s wonder-strike and seal a 3-0 victory.
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