Ruud Gullit has revealed where he stands on the “very technical” Kobbie Mainoo and the England midfielder’s future at Old Trafford under Michael Carrick.
Kobbie Mainoo weathered the storm of the Ruben Amorim era before the Manchester United midfielder rediscovered his best form at the Red Devils.
Michael Carrick has made the 21-year-old United youth academy product an integral part of his midfield since he replaced Ruben Amorim in the Old Trafford hot seat.
Mainoo’s resurgence during the second half of the 2025-26 campaign catapulted him back into the England team, including securing his place in the World Cup squad.
Ruud Gullit does not want people to ‘bombard’ Kobbie Mainoo with ‘best player’ message at Man Utd
Kobbie Mainoo has continued to impress under Manchester United manager Michael Carrick and been one of the better performers in the early stages of the new season. The Stockport-born talent has made three Premier League starts in United’s opening four league matches and picked up an assist against Everton in the 2-2 draw.
The United midfielder has featured in all six fixtures across all competitions and Mainoo has been Carrick’s preferred midfield pick alongside Youri Tielemans. Mainoo started in United’s Champions League opener against Old Trafford, but the England international came off the bench in the Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton.
Speaking to ComeOn, Ruud Gullit has admitted that Mainoo should not be facing certain labels around his quality compared with others and instead needs space to “mature.”
“Kobbie Mainoo is a very technical player,” he said.
“He is still young though and we have to give him a break. Don’t bombard him immediately saying he is the best player we have seen or whatever else.”
Gullit added: “He needs time to mature and he also needs older, more experienced players to do that, who know his position.
“He needs to be around them in order for them to teach him, especially during training sessions. What to do, what not to do.”
United underwent a midfield rebuild under Ineos and Gullit feels that Mainoo is now facing the challenge of navigating his performances amid the changes to the squad.
“Manchester United are a team in transition,” Gullit explained.
“It’s not easy for a player like Kobbie Mainoo in this situation. You can’t expect him to take the whole team by the hand at his age. He will have his ups and downs. He will play good games, as we have seen, but bad games also, and that’s normal for a kid his age.
“It will take him much more time to get some consistency and that is normal. A very normal thing. You have to look for that experience.”
Mainoo was announced for the England squad on Tuesday ahead of the Three Lions’ upcoming international fixtures under manager Thomas Tuchel during the October break.
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