Ruben Amorim’s prediction for Manchester United and England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo played out perfectly well in the hands of interim head coach Michael Carrick.
Kobbie Mainoo’s first Manchester United start in the Premier League came last Saturday in Michael Carrick’s first match in charge at Old Trafford this season.
Should Kobbie Mainoo be an automatic starter under Michael Carrick now?
Kobbie Mainoo only needed 90 minutes to prove Ruben Amorim wrong!
The 20-year-old England midfielder delivered a strong display in the final Manchester derby of the campaign, with Manchester United defeating Manchester City 2-0.
Mainoo played the full 90 minutes in Man Utd’s sensational performance against Manchester City and offered a twinkle of hope after his woes under Ruben Amorim.
Former United manager Amorim had only handed one start to Mainoo for the first half of the 2025-26 season, which came in the shock Carabao Cup exit last August.
Ruben Amorim’s Man Utd message around Kobbie Mainoo came to fruition sooner than he expected
Kobbie Mainoo had fallen down the pecking order under Ruben Amorim, who had turned to Bruno Fernandes to play in the two-man midfield pivot this season.
Casemiro was Amorim’s preferred pick alongside Man Utd captain Bruno Fernandes and even Manuel Ugarte was ahead of Mainoo in the midfield choices at one stage.
Amorim could not escape the drama around his reluctance to use Mainoo and the 40-year-old former Sporting CP coach addressed the issue ahead of his sacking.
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“Kobbie Mainoo will have the opportunity he has all the time,” he said in December 2025, as per ESPN.
“He played in different positions: he can do that [defensive midfield] position, he can play if we play with three, he can play like we play in the last game — the position of Mason Mount in this game [a number 10 who drops into midfield].”
However, Amorim’s prediction for Man Utd midfielder Mainoo included calling him the player the “future” at Old Trafford and how cyclical world football is nowadays.
“So, he’s going to be the future of Manchester United, that is my feeling,” he added.
“He just needs to wait for his chance and everything can change in football in two days.”
Ruben Amorim ironically predicted the right thing that needed to happen for Kobbie Mainoo at Man Utd
Amorim’s sentiments around Mainoo are deeply ironic when it is looked at for the England international needing to “wait for his chance” at the Premier League club.
Amorim was right with his assessment and the chance came with the former Man Utd manager’s sacking by the Premier League club earlier this month.
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The Portuguese coach also hit the nail on the head with how “everything can change in football,” which is exactly where Mainoo now finds himself at United.
Mainoo went from being undesirable number one under Amorim to starting under both caretaker manager Darren Fletcher and interim head coach Michael Carrick.
It’s early days into Carrick’s reign, but Mainoo could still become the ‘future of Man Utd’ if the interim boss puts his career back on track before the end of the season.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/UnZleDq