Kobbie Mainoo: Breaking down why there is such excitement about the Man Utd teenager

Some starting debuts go quietly. Others serve as grand declarations of talent.

The 72 minutes Kobbie Mainoo played for Manchester United against Everton on Sunday was somehow both.

United fans got a few glimpses of Mainoo in the senior team last season, with the teenager starting and playing an hour in the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Charlton Athletic of League One in January, playing the last 20 minutes or so against Championship side Reading a couple of weeks later in the FA Cup’s fourth round and then the final 10 against Leicester City for his Premier League debut the following month.

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A promising pre-season tour in the U.S. this summer was cut short by an ankle injury sustained in the trip’s penultimate match against Real Madrid. He recovered from that to make the bench for the three previous Premier League games but at Goodison Park this past weekend, amid a fiery atmosphere linked to Everton’s 10-point deduction for breaching financial rules, 18-year-old Mainoo made his proper starting senior debut for the club he joined at age nine.

It was a performance that led Gary Neville to say the midfielder “looked like a Manchester City player” on Sky Sports’ commentary for the match, such was Mainoo’s ability to receive and pass on the half-turn. “We don’t want to get too carried away, but I’m sure we will,” said Sky pundit Roy Keane, before offering that Mainoo “looked a Man United type of player. Nice and brave. Lots of courage”.

Wes Brown said he looked “very comfortable” when talking to MUTV, the club’s in-house television channel. Gary Pallister said Mainoo did his defensive duties well. Ian Wright said he played “like a senior pro”. On Match of the Day 2, the BBC’s Premier League highlights show, Danny Murphy reflected that Mainoo took to the defensive midfield role at United “effortlessly” and that Everton players “couldn’t get near him at times”.

That is a lot of compliments from a lot of former footballers directed towards a player who on the day scored no goals, provided no assists and generated a figure of only 0.01 in the expected assists (xA), which is a way of measuring the quality of chances a player creates.

Yet Mainoo, born locally in Stockport and an England youth international at under-17, under-18 and under-19 levels, has garnered so much conversation over the past four days because of how quietly he went about his business at Goodison Park.

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As the deepest midfielder in manager Erik ten Hag’s 4-2-3-1, his job was to drop deep, collect the ball and alleviate pressure. With his first touches of the game, he displayed talents that have often been beyond his more experienced team-mates, dropping deep towards his own goal to receive from Diogo Dalot before playing short to Scott McTominay, then getting the ball back and flicking another first-time pass back to Dalot with the outside of his right foot.

A look at United’s passing network (below) from the Everton game illustrates how important he was to his team.

Andre Onana frequently played forward to the teenager, as did centre-backs Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire (the thick lines coming from the goalkeeper and centre-backs). When Mainoo came onto the ball, he would look to distribute it to his full-backs, or see if he could hit good passes forward.

“The way he was dropping in between the centre-backs… getting it, taking touches, drifting by people or away from people, away from the challenge and the press, and then releasing it,” said Rio Ferdinand. “That’s what these centre-backs and goalkeeper have been waiting for — someone who can alleviate that pressure and beat that press.”

A good example of what Mainoo brings to this United side can be found in the game’s early minutes.

As the ball travels to him close to the centre circle, Mainoo knows the imminent threat posed by Abdoulaye Doucoure (No 16).

But rather than panic at the prospect of being pressed and passing the ball back to where it came from, as other United midfielders might do, Mainoo first takes a moment to draw in Doucoure further…

… before turning…

… and fizzing a pass to the feet of striker Anthony Martial, who has dropped to collect the ball.

Mainoo’s passing game focused on doing the simple things well rather than going for spectacular highlight moments. Still, as detailed above, the sensible way he looked to collect and redistribute the ball caught the eye.

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It was impressive watching an 18-year-old not only show for the ball but also talk to McTominay (who often struggles to find space when marked) and Bruno Fernandes (who prioritises ball progression over ball retention) about how they might better manoeuvre themselves.

Mainoo was prepared to put his foot on the ball, to both assess the situation and give his team-mates more time to find space.

His 61 touches in the 72 minutes he spent on the pitch were joint-fifth-most of any United player on Sunday — only team-mates who completed the full 90 had more than him — and his 38 successful passes were bettered only by Fernandes (40) and Lindelof (41), who both played the full match.

Another impressive trait of Mainoo’s play came from several of these passes being headers. At 5ft 9in (175cm), he is not the most imposing of midfielders, but he does compete well in the air and gets decent direction on his uncontested headers.

On top of all that, he ranked highly for United players passing into the final third. (A nod here too for Luke Shaw, who also helped with United’s ball progression on his return from two months out through injury.)

PlayerMinutes PlayedPasses Ending in Final Third

90

20

90

15

71

10

90

9

76

8

But Mainoo was more than a passing metronome. He also served as a useful ball carrier, getting his team from the edge of their penalty area and past the centre circle when needed. A good example of this can be found early in the first half, when he pushes towards halfway to drag Everton players up the pitch and create extra space for him to then drop into and collect the ball.

When he then receives the ball from goalkeeper Onana, he does so while turning, blocking off the attentions of Doucoure and setting himself up for a run.

He then carries the ball close to the halfway line before arcing a pass over the top for Alejandro Garnacho — the United player furthest to the right in the screengrab below — to chase. (The pass was cut out by Everton ’keeper Jordan Pickford coming off his line.)

Opta data shows Mainoo made 12 carries (defined as moving the ball by five metres or more) in the game, a tally only bettered by players who completed the full 90.

Player

  

Ball Carries

  

Total Carry Distance (m)

  

16

164.4

14

166.7

14

146

13

135

13

133.7

12

153.9

12

144.2

Furthermore, Mainoo was good when working out of possession and against the ball. He would stick to Doucoure whenever Everton attempted to pass through midfield and often competed with the much older (30 years old) and taller (6ft) midfielder in the air. Three successful ground duels (out of five) and two successful aerial ones (of three) indicate someone who can do the defensive parts of the defensive midfield job.

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Mainoo’s goal-line clearance after an Everton scramble was another standout moment. Not only did he have the awareness to follow his runner into the penalty area as part of defending the initial threat, but he also had the sense to stay alert to any possible danger after Dwight McNeil’s shot rolled towards Idrissa Gueye. Mainoo played with the match awareness of a veteran.

When defending against this free kick, it was his job to get first contact on the ball if it passed the one-person wall.

He succeeded in that task, making the clearance.

He also put his body in the way to make vital blocks on opposition shots.

It was a performance during which his team-mates increasingly trusted him with the ball and congratulated him on the work he got through without it. On more than one occasion, Dalot commended Mainoo on a defensive block. Maguire spent time after the end of the match talking to the teenager.

You can add Jermaine Jenas’ name to those of Keane and Murphy on the list of former Premier League midfielders who were left impressed. “They’re onto something special here,” Jenas said on Match of the Day. “You can tell he’s been well coached and he’s listened to everything he’s been told.”

That ankle injury on tour in the U.S. meant Mainoo missed the early months of this season, but on Sunday’s evidence, he is likely to play a major part over the remainder of it.

“We are very pleased with the performance (at Everton) but it’s one performance, and you have to do it on a consistent basis. Kobbie is so mature, (but) you are only as good as your last game,” was Ten Hag’s response about using the teenager in the crucial Champions League game away to Galatasaray in Istanbul tonight (Wednesday).

“Keep your focus on the game. You have to focus on your game, your performance, and get the right levels in. When we observe, if a player is moving away from football and getting distracted, we will tell them.”

(Photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

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