Ruben Amorim admits Kobbie Mainoo is performing at a high standard in training, but accepts he is finding it difficult to give the Manchester United midfielder sufficient game time.
It has been a difficult start to the season for Kobbie Mainoo, with the England international struggling for minutes under Ruben Amorim after losing his place in the Manchester United line-up.
The 20-year-old has been overlooked more often than not this season, as Amorim continues to opt for an experienced midfield pivot of Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro.
Mainoo was an unused substitute for the third time this season when United drew 2-2 against Nottingham Forest last weekend. He has made all seven appearances in the Premier League from the bench.
As a result, Mainoo runs the risk of missing out on a World Cup place because he is not going to make Thomas Tuchel’s squad unless he is playing regularly.
Ruben Amorim admits Kobbie Mainoo ‘deserves’ to play
Mainoo has been limited to just 228 minutes of football this season.
United will embark on a trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, knowing a win would see them overtake Thomas Frank’s side in the Premier League table.
It remains to be seen if Amorim will make any changes to his team that drew with Forest last weekend, after increasing their unbeaten run to four matches.
Mainoo will be hopeful – albeit unlikely – to get into the line-up, but Amorim’s recent comments should be seen as encouraging for the United academy graduate.
In an interview with beiN SPORTS, Amorim is asked about the benefits of having one game per week, but he mentioned how it also makes it difficult to give players on the fringes of the squad sufficient game time.
The two examples given by United’s head coach include Joshua Zirkzee and Mainoo.
After explaining that United are using every extra minute they have on the training ground to improve, Amorim stressed that there is another factor that comes with fewer fixtures, as it makes it difficult to keep everyone in the squad happy.
Amorim acknowledges that Mainoo has been impressing in training and “deserves” to play, but stresses it is difficult because he is happy with the performances of Fernandes and Casemiro in recent weeks.
“But then you have the other side,” Amorim said.
“I see Kobbie Mainoo training today and he deserves to play, but then I have to take one guy that is playing really well.
“We should have played yesterday in the Carabao Cup because I need to see Kobbie Mainoo playing. I need to see Joshua, all these guys. They deserve to play but, in the end, with one game you need to make choices.
“So, we have both sides, but we are taking advantage of the good side of not playing in the middle of the week.”
Kobbie Mainoo looking for first win over Tottenham Hotspur
Mainoo has played against Tottenham four times in his career to date, but the midfield ace is still looking for his first win over the London outfit.
While an appearance is most likely to come from the bench in the early kick-off on Saturday, rather than the starting line-up, Mainoo will be hopeful of getting more minutes (1) on the pitch than he got in the Europa League final defeat against Tottenham in May.
It will be United’s first meeting with Tottenham since that disappointing night in Bilbao.
Furthermore, United should be seeking revenge after losing four times against Spurs last term.
Leave a Reply