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Roy Keane has heaped the praise on Kobbie Mainoo after Man United battered Everton 3-0.
I have to say, it feels pretty good waking up as a Manchester United fan this morning. The Red Devils played their most complete Premier League game of the season against Everton yesterday. Although there is much work ahead, there is now a glimmer of hope for the Old Trafford side.
Typically, the spark has been ignited from our young players. Alejandro Garnacho scored a worldie that will never be forgotten, while Kobbie Mainoo played an unreal game on his full debut.
The young midfielder showed promise aplenty in pre-season, before picking up an injury that would rule him out for three months. Mainoo has been slowly building up the fitness levels over the last few weeks and with a treatment table crisis on full display, the teenager was forced into the start.
Well, it’s fair to say he took that chance with both hands impressing massively on full debut against a pretty decent Everton midfield.
Perhaps the best way to describe how good Mainoo was is the fact that even Roy Keane, who is usually the biggest pessimist, was full of praise for the United midfielder. He stated he ‘loved’ watching him play, while adding that it was an ‘outstanding display’ vs Everton. Keano handing out praise like this is pretty rare!
Check out what the ex-Red midfielder had to say on Mainoo in full here:
“Unbelievable,” Keane said on Mainoo’s debut, per Sky Sports. “We don’t want to get too carried away but I’m sure we will.
“He looked like he always had time on the ball today, his decision-making, in terms of when to go long when to go short, in terms of off the ball as well. What an all-round performance.”
“The club obviously think highly of him. With the build-up to the game today, coming to Everton, for the manager to put him in, he and the staff around the place obviously must trust him.
“Good luck to the kid. He was outstanding. It’s a great start for him. Let’s hope he stays injury-free and gets a run of games for Man Utd because he looked a Man Utd type of player.
“Nice and brave, lots of courage. I loved watching him.”
Honestly, I was flabbergasted with how much Keano was buzzing with Mainoo’s performance. He’s a hard man to please these days, but the fact that he was so hyped about the young man tells you just how good of an outing it was.
This just goes to show why United weren’t spending too much time looking to bring in multiple midfielders over the summer. Mainoo didn’t put a foot wrong in pre-season and he’s a player that has obviously earned Ten Hag’s trust. I’d be surprised if the Stockport-born midfielder is not in the line-up against Galatasaray on Wednesday evening.
The only thing I will say is that we have to be careful. Mainoo was out for a while. I wouldn’t want to see him re-injure the affected area due to playing too much football in a short space of time. It’s probably why he was subbed off on the 70-minute mark yesterday, with Ten Hag looking to manage his minutes, at least in the short term.
Do you think Kobbie Mainoo will continue to get even better? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.
