Last week, Kobbie Mainoo signed a new contract at Manchester United and scored the winner against Liverpool. He’s come a long way from hardly getting a kick under Ruben Amorim.
As recently as December, Casemiro further back.
The young England international and the experienced Brazilian have formed a solid partnership, in part because they complement each other well. Casemiro brings the brawn, whereas Mainoo finds spaces to knit play together and drops deep to give the centre-backs an out-ball.
Casemiro is obviously a fine player in his own right, but it doesn’t feel coincidental that his stock at the club has risen significantly – notwithstanding his confirmed exit – since Carrick arrived and paired him with Mainoo. Sure, some of that will be down to his goals output, but he’s rarely looked exposed like he did at times in the past. Partnering him with Mainoo rather than the more buccaneering Bruno gives United a more stable structure in the middle.
The touch zone maps below show Fernandes in a deep role this season under Amorim, and Mainoo in a deep role under Fletcher/Carrick. It’s not a perfect comparison, of course, because they were playing different systems, but Fernandes’ graphic reflects his innate predilection to roam, whereas Mainoo’s shows a greater concentration of touches in a central area.
Well, Casemiro and Mainoo give United a more stable structure most of the time.
Sunday’s 3-2 win over Liverpool did actually raise some questions about their partnership. In the second half, as the Reds managed to wipe out a two-goal deficit, United’s midfield didn’t provide the sort of cover expected.
On several occasions, both Casemiro and Mainoo were caught too high up the pitch, and so Liverpool looked considerably more threatening in transition than they had in the first half because they often had space to run into.
There’s an argument Casemiro, as the experienced one, was at greater fault here than Mainoo, especially given the 34-year-old doesn’t have the mobility to get back quickly when potentially caught out of position. But he wasn’t entirely to blame.
Ultimately, however, that same adventurousness on Mainoo’s part ended up bailing United out. He latched on to a botched clearance on the edge of the Liverpool box and placed a first-time effort into the bottom-left corner, with that the winner in the 3-2 victory.
Mainoo mentioned after the game – repeating something he said a few days earlier – that scoring more goals was a part of his game he wanted to improve. Fair enough; that was only his fourth in the Premier League.
But that also raises the key question: what is Kobbie Mainoo?
It’s not a new question. It’s one that’s pretty much followed him around ever since he broke into the United first team, but it is an important one. Look at Scott McTominay, for example – he’s adamant the club “misprofiled” him for years, playing him in a deep role that he’s gratefully left behind since moving to – and thriving at – Napoli.
McTominay never had the technical talent Mainoo possesses, so imagine the disappointment if United squandered him too.
Erik ten Hag seemed reluctant to give him a fixed role because he felt Mainoo was a “perfect midfielder” who could play “as an attacking midfielder and also as a holding midfielder”.
Gareth Southgate was “not certain [Mainoo] is necessarily going to be a defensive midfielder” later in his career, while Amorim felt he wasn’t athletic enough to be an ‘eight’ and lacked the “pace” to be a ‘six’.
In fairness to Amorim, there was arguably a hint of truth in his appraisals of the physical aspects of Mainoo’s profile, but some of this can be developed with time.
Something that is perhaps harder to train is developing a certain defensive authority and ruggedness that comes to some players naturally – Casemiro, for instance. For many, being a forceful and aggressive off-ball presence is vital for a player deployed in front of the defence, and Mainoo doesn’t – and may never – have that sort of on-field personality. There’s no doubt this colours some people’s thinking when it comes to considering him as a six in the long term.
But not every six is the same, and there’s certainly a case to be made that, in many teams, the most important attributes of the six are those geared towards ball retention and press resistance. For example, when you think about the likes of prime Sergio Busquets and Rodri, the first thing you probably think about them is their poise and control in possession as opposed to them snapping into challenge after challenge.
Although those two play, or played, in very possession-dominant sides and Mainoo won’t (at least not to the same extreme extent), that doesn’t necessarily mean he must concentrate on becoming some midfield bruiser in order to thrive as a six.
Balance in a midfield pairing is important. That’s why Mainoo’s partnership with Casemiro has been so effective, because, as mentioned before, they complement each other. That’s also why finding the right replacement for the Brazilian is United’s most important objective in the summer.
For all the scepticism, the umming and ahhing, Mainoo’s greatest qualities – and rare ones at that – seem most suited to being a six. There are few players in the Premier League more comfortable receiving the ball under pressure from the centre-backs than Mainoo, and there are even fewer central midfielders who manipulate the ball as intricately and cleverly as the 21-year-old.
While much of that can only really be determined via the eye test, Mainoo’s composure in congested areas can be supported by data.
This season, he has completed 87.2% of passes made under pressure (defender within 4 metres), which sees him rank 13th out of 88 midfielders to have attempted 400+ passes in total. Mainoo moves up to 11th among the same group with 85.7% pass completion under high pressure (defender within 2m).
Then, when looking at completion rate for forward passes under high pressure (70.1%), he ranks eighth, as he does for those made in his own half (67.2%).
At 21, he’s already one of the most efficient Premier League midfielders when under pressure, and probably only one of two such players – along with Nemanja Matic – United have had since Carrick himself was in the side. If United were to prioritise the signing of a six this summer, the chances are they’d want their new player to have this same composure; acquiring such a midfielder will cost a small fortune.
United should allow Mainoo to continue learning this part, making the most of his on-ball awareness and press resistance in areas where it can be maximised, rather than refusing to commit him to a specific role.
That means pairing him with a midfielder who complements him rather than one who’ll step on his toes, and that goes for on the pitch and in development terms.
The numbers hint at a player on the trajectory to being elite under pressure, if he isn’t already, and the eye test supports that. What he needs is consistency of role and support once Casemiro leaves. If United commit to the former and get their recruitment right, Mainoo’s current form won’t just be an encouraging spell but the early signs of a long-term answer in midfield.
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Man Utd’s Most Important Summer Objective Is Finding the Right Partner for Kobbie Mainoo Opta Analyst.
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