Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick has spoken very highly of young midfielder Kobbie Mainoo after making him a key player since he replaced Ruben Amorim.
Mainoo had been struggling for playing time at Old Trafford this season, with Amorim for some reason not rating him and leaving him on the bench a lot.
The Portuguese tactician struggled during his time in charge of Man Utd, and it now seems clear that he really missed a trick by not making more use of Mainoo.
The talented young England international first burst onto the scene under Erik ten Hag, and Carrick also says he’s known about him for a while.
Michael Carrick’s special praise for Kobbie Mainoo
Speaking to BBC Sport, Carrick made it clear just how highly he rates Mainoo, whilst also backing the 20-year-old to keep on getting even better.
“I’ve known Kobbie a long time. I started working with him when I think he was 13 or 14, when I was starting to do my coaching badges – a good few years ago. Just little bits. And then, obviously, when I was here the first time, he was in and around a little bit,” Carrick said.
“So I think knowing him and having experience with him and seeing him perform at such a level on such big occasions… I said earlier about coaches being able to cope with being here and at the level to deal with it. What Kobbie’s done at such a young age is quite incredible really.
“We forget how young he still is. I was just a big fan of watching him play and knowing what he was capable of. So it wasn’t really a big decision to play him. And, to be fair, it’s not easy when you haven’t played to find your rhythm and find your form.
“There are things he can get better at, things he can improve on, but we haven’t really got started on any of that because we’re just letting him go and find his flow and find his rhythm of playing football again. I’ve been really conscious of not giving him an awful lot – a couple of little pointers, a bit of positional things and some little bits here and there – but trust in what he is. He’s a fantastic footballer and he’s got a huge talent.”
Kobbie Mainoo flourishing under Michael Carrick
It’s interesting to hear Carrick say that he doesn’t like to overload Mainoo with too many instructions, which really feels like a breath of fresh air in the modern game.
It remains to be seen if United will end up hiring Carrick beyond his spell as interim manager, but there is perhaps something to be learned from how he’s managed to get the best out of Mainoo.
While there are a lot of elite coaches in the game who approach things differently, it seems there is also something to be said for giving players the freedom to express themselves.
This also worked well while another former MUFC player, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, was in charge at Old Trafford, so it might be that Carrick will be another good fit for the job.
Carrick has won four and drawn one of his five games in charge of the Red Devils so far.