Manchester United have produced a lot of young talented players over the years. These academy graduates perform consistently at the top level and catch the eye of the first-team coach. One such player who created a lot of hype in the last few seasons is teenager, Kobbie Mainoo. The Englishman was one of the most talked about players and Erik ten Hag also saw the same potential in him.
After a few injury concerns, the Dutch manager was forced to give Mainoo a chance in the first team. He took the field for Manchester United against Liverpool, Spurs and other top clubs. In his most recent game for the Red Devils, Mainoo went on to score a winner with probably the last kick of the match. As the youngster is growing in confidence, we take a look at what he has added to the team.
Box-to-box midfielder
Kobbie Mainoo plays as a box-to-box midfielder for Manchester United and is present everywhere on the field. He has been used as a defensive midfielder by Ten Hag.
Playing in the centre of the park gives you more responsibility on the field. Kobbie Mainoo’s main role is to guard the defence of the team and rotate the ball to different areas of the field. In the current season, Mainoo has won 71.6% of his defensive duels, 46% of his aerial duels and 42% of his loose ball duels. The youngster has not given away any silly fouls and has shown a lot of discipline. He is short in stature but is not afraid to contest any duel.
Another reason why Mainoo is so highly rated is his ability to recover the ball in a match. Mainoo makes around 7.5 recoveries per 90 minutes and 40% of these take in the attacking half. Some of the recoveries in the attacking half have allowed Manchester United to keep their attacking momentum in the match.
Kobbie Mainoo is a confident person with the ball at his feet. He knows how to rotate the ball and always gets in position to receive it. In the current season, the youngster averaged 39 passes per 90 minutes and had an 87.5% accuracy rate. These include 4.6 passes to the final third of the opposition. Mainoo has yet to register an assist to his name.
One thing is for sure and that is Mainoo’s ability to make decent runs in and around the penalty box. These have led to two goals for the youngster. He netted his first goal for Manchester United against Newport County in the FA Cup. Against Wolves, Mainoo netted his second goal of the season by showing some skills.
Overall, Mainoo has been a great addition to the squad and is poised to achieve a lot in the future. Manchester United fans will be happy with his progress and expect a lot from him in the future.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
