Manchester United's former first-team coach Rene Meulensteen believes Kobbie Mainoo will leave the club on loan in January, and ‘cannot fathom’ why Ruben Amorim won’t play him alongside captain Bruno Fernandes in midfield.
All 10 of Mainoo’s Premier League appearances for United this season have come off the bench, with just a solitary start in the Carabao Cup defeat to Grimsby Town in August.
Several ex-United stars including Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Rio Ferdinand have urged Mainoo to find a new club next month for the good of his career after a request to join Napoli on loan in the summer was rejected by his boyhood club.
Meulensteen feels the 20-year-old will leave but cannot understand why Amorim has put Mainoo in direct competition with Fernandes rather than playing them together.
‘I think there’s a strong possibility that he leaves the club in January on loan,’ said Meulensteen, who spent 12 years as a coach at United, much of it working alongside Sir Alex Ferguson.
‘I think he tried to leave in the summer to follow Scott McTominay to Napoli, but the club blocked the move. Players want game time and Kobbie is no different from any other player; he wants to play as much as possible and improve his game, which he can’t do from the bench at Man United currently.’
Meulensteen added: ‘Kobbie Mainoo played himself into the United team and the England set-up by playing absolutely fantastic football for someone so young. He established himself in this team as a starter, and the club and United fans love to see a young player from the academy being successful in the first team.
‘For whatever reason, Amorim doesn’t seem keen to play Kobbie which frustrates the fans and myself as I think he is a really talented player.
‘I think the reason his game time has been significantly reduced is due to the signings United made over the summer and the formation they play. Signing Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo meant Bruno Fernandes has slotted back into a more defensive position, where we have seen Mainoo play in recent years.
‘I can’t fathom why Mainoo and Bruno can’t play together, but maybe Amorim thinks they’re too similar. I would definitely like to see them play together. Kobbie is a top player with plenty of potential, but United are winning games at the moment, so he may have to wait it out for a while for a chance to start in this team again.’
Meulensteen has criticised Amorim in the past for being too rigid in his 3-4-2-1 system. The 61-year-old admits United have improved as they have moved into the top-six, but warns that the Portuguese coach isn’t out of the woods yet.
‘I think his job is safe for now, but if they go on another run of poor results, the rumours will be circling once again,’ he said.
‘I think the formation does look better now. But, at the end of the day, even if United go on a bad run of form, the formation will stay the same under Amorim – that has become clear over the past year.
‘I’m not sure that it’s the best formation to get the most out of the fantastic squad he has available to him, but Amorim seems to be getting good results over the past few months, so something is working.’