Michael Carrick has made it clear that Kobbie Mainoo remains an important part of his plans at Manchester United, even with the midfield looking very different from last season.
Kobbie Mainoo had a difficult spell for much of the previous campaign, but he finished strongly and came back into the starting XI for the 5-2 win over Ipswich. Michael Carrick liked what he saw and believes there is still plenty more to come from the midfielder.
“The competition is a positive thing, not necessarily because it’s one player against another, but it’s a collective, to know that we have a strong group. Kobbie made big strides last season, he finished the season strongly and played ever so well last week. You can see his development and how much he has improved in certain aspects of his game.”
Manchester United have added a number of big names in the midfield this season. The likes of Youri Tielemans, Carlos Baleba and Andrey Santos will be direct competition for Kobbie Mainoo at United. Mainoo therefore has to keep improving rather than assuming his place is secure.
Carrick wants Kobbie Mainoo to keep learning
Michael Carrick himself was a decent name in the United midfield back in his days so he knows how to spot an attitude for a midfielder fighting for a place. The United boss pointed to Mainoo’s attitude. Despite already establishing himself at senior level, Carrick says the youngster is still pushing himself.
“He wants to learn and is hungry to learn more, which is great. He has had a really good eight months since I’ve been in. It would be easy for him to think everything is fine after getting in the team and playing a lot of games, but he is pushing for more, as he should,” Michael Carrick said ahead of Everton game.
Kobbie Mainoo has looked like a new player since Michael Carrick arrived after being benched by Ruben Amorim. He has started most of Carrick’s games in charge has shown his potential to be amongst the best youngsters in the world. The manager also believes the competition around him can help rather than hinder his development.
“The beauty of having the competition and the foundation to be strong is that you can learn off each other and help each other, certainly as a midfield group, it’s really strong.”
Mainoo is good at expressing himself
There is also a clear indication in the way Carrick intends to coach him. Rather than overloading Mainoo with instructions, the manager wants him to play naturally while working on the areas that can take his game forward.
“With Kobbie, it’s not about lecturing him, but letting him play, express himself and do what he is good at.”
Carrick finished by making his belief in Mainoo’s ceiling obvious.
“He has some amazing attributes that we want to use, and there is also an improvement side where we try to help him. The great thing about it is that he wants to learn.”
For Mainoo, that is probably the most encouraging part of Carrick’s press conference. Although he looks well settled in the team as its future and one of the first names on the team sheet, Michael Carrick sees a young midfielder who has already made considerable progress and still has a lot left to develop.
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