This week, The Athletic is putting Manchester United’s midfield in focus, including a deep dive on Bruno Fernandes’ change of position and a look at what the club will lose when Casemiro leaves after his contract expires in the summer, and at who they could buy to replace him.
Today, we explore what is behind Kobbie Mainoo’s success in these early weeks of the Michael Carrick era.
They say love is blind, but there are reasons behind the affection.
Kobbie Mainoo is the son of Manchester United, and the feelings of adoration towards the midfielder are to be expected.
Yet, the causes of this go beyond the fact that he is an English academy graduate.
When Mainoo started his first Premier League match against Everton in November 2023, it was love at first sight for the United fans.
In the recent history of the club’s midfielders, his profile stood out, especially his technical ability on the ball — dribbling past opponents in tight spaces and receiving possession under pressure were alien characteristics to United’s midfield at that time.
During the 2023-24 season, the injuries in United’s midfield coupled with Mainoo’s unique profile and impressive displays made him a key member of the team, but it’s important to remember that he only turned 19 in the April of that campaign. By the end of 2024, Mainoo still had parts of his game that he needed to develop and improve.
Footballers aren’t perfect, though — each profile has its strengths and weaknesses — and the head coach’s role is to devise a style of play that gets the best out of his squad, while developing the players at hand.
Whether Ruben Amorim failed in the first part or not is up for debate, but it’s fair to criticise the lack of minutes given to Mainoo this season, and how the back-three system decreased the number of attacking profiles when Amad wasn’t playing at right wing-back.
Amorim’s sacking brought Mainoo back in the picture again. Under Michael Carrick, the switch to a back-four system on paper has meant that United can afford an extra attacking profile regardless of their shape in the different phases of play. This has freed up a place for Bruno Fernandes in the No 10 role, which in turn has put Mainoo in the double pivot next to Casemiro.
What has helped Mainoo more is United’s in-possession ideas under Carrick, where there’s a greater focus on central passing combinations, aided by the narrowness and flexibility of the forwards and Fernandes.
Another aspect is taking the responsibility of breaking the lines and finding the forwards away from Mainoo and Casemiro, and putting it into the hands of Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot.
Breaking the lines with zipped passes isn’t Mainoo’s strength, and by giving that responsibility to Martinez and Maguire, who are adept at this, Carrick is correctly using the profiles of the squad to the advantage of the team.
As a result, Mainoo has constantly been in positions where he can combine with the front four, carry the ball into space or recycle possession to restart United’s attack. The former two are options that play to Mainoo’s profile because of his dribbling ability and high technical level, which allows him to excel in short passing combinations.
“Basically as a midfielder you try to connect the team, whether that’s with the ball or without the ball. He (Mainoo) certainly takes the ball, we all realise that he will take the ball everywhere and connect the whole team,” said Carrick after the 1-1 draw against West Ham United earlier this month. “He isn’t always going to be the one that has the final action, but he certainly starts a lot of our moves.”
In this example, from the 3-2 victory against Fulham this month, Mainoo receives the ball from Martinez between the lines, uses his first touch to attack the space, before combining with Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko, but the centre-forward fails to find Amad down the right wing.
In addition, Mainoo’s press resistance and ability to receive the ball under pressure in the build-up phase works in tandem with the team’s ideas under Carrick, which aim to drag the opponent higher up the pitch, before combining and finding the front four in the space between the lines or behind the defence.
The early indications are showing that the ideas Carrick and his coaching staff are trying to implement on the ball suit Mainoo’s strengths and mask his weaknesses, but the jury is out on one of United’s out-of-possession phases.
In the five games under Carrick, United’s high press has been inconsistent as a collective, which makes it harder to assess the individual performances in this phase of play. However, the team has looked solid in their 4-4-2 mid-block shape and when defending in a low block.
Admittedly, the sample size is negligible, but Mainoo’s defensive awareness and positioning has looked better in these five games compared to the last couple of seasons. It helps that he is training and playing next to an experienced player like Casemiro. “I think they have got a really good partnership and complement each other,” Carrick told reporters after the West Ham match.
Casemiro’s profile has also been covering for Mainoo’s lack of physicality and unsuitability to cover large spaces in the defensive phases, which makes replacing the Brazilian absolutely vital for both the team and Mainoo’s development.
It’s easy to forget that Mainoo is still a 20-year-old whose career is just starting. The potential development of Mainoo into the player he could become is more important than the player he is today.
“There is no doubt (about) Kobbie’s ability (and) what he can bring. He is still so young, and let’s be careful about putting so much weight on his shoulders and expecting so much of him. I think he’s still learning the game,” said Carrick after United’s 2-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur this month.
“Because he has had the big high and then didn’t play for a little bit, it is easy to think he is older and more experienced than he is.”
Carrick and Mainoo (Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Improving aspects of Mainoo’s game, such as his chance creation and long-range passing, are the next steps in empowering his profile. Meanwhile, the enhanced defensive awareness and positioning will get better with time and experience, and should cover for the other deficiencies in his defensive profile — just ask his current head coach.
Mainoo’s current profile still needs support from the collective in terms of the role he is asked to do on and off the ball, and the team’s style of play. His next partner will also affect this, positively or negatively.
United want to see the best of Mainoo as soon as possible, but the club has to manage the fans’ expectations and support the player in his development years.
Mainoo needs time and work if he is to become the very best player he can be.