Kobbie Mainoo hailed the ‘top player’ Bruno Fernandes when asked to name his best Manchester United team-mate with Casemiro also impressing the Premier League’s rising star.
While yet another defeat – a tenth of the league season – cast further doubt on their hopes of success in the present under Erik ten Hag, at least the future looks about as bright as Alejandro Garnacho’s peroxide locks.
That picture, Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and Kobbie Mainoo celebrating the Argentine’s second goal in a recent 3-0 victory over West Ham, is one of those which could mark an era at Old Trafford.
All three – Hojlund the oldest at just 21 – have been arguably Manchester United’s stand-out performers since the turn of the year, with Mainoo’s rapid emergence from academy kid to first-team regular aided by the vast experience of Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro alongside him in the engine room.
Kobbie Mainoo a stand-out at Manchester United
“I would say Bruno. Bruno is a top player,” Mainoo tells the Man United website when asked to name his ‘best’ team-mate.
“Casemiro as well.”
The admiration between Casemiro and Mainoo is most certainly mutual, a man 14 years the latter’s junior insisting that Man United have unearthed an ‘exceptional’ footballer with the potential to become one of the Premier League’s premiere performers for the forseeable future.
The likelihood is, however, that the grand old man of Manchester will not be sticking around to see the fresh-faced whippersnapper step into his boots.
Casemiro, according to the Manchester Evening News, is one of around 10 players in danger of the axe with Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe taking no prisoners. Bruno Fernandes, with his 30th birthday only a few months away, may be another who’s longevity comes into question in a bold new era expected to lean heavily on exuberance rather than experience.
Mainoo could lead a bold new era at Old Trafford
“It’s special for a club of this size, such a big club, to still trust the Academy and still put time and effort into developing young talents,” adds Mainoo, who is one of a number of Carrington-grown talents to make his debut this term alongside Omari Forson and Willy Kambwala.
“It’s obviously an amazing thing to be a part of.”
“To have people going through similar things as you and that you’ve known for a while, obviously it makes the transition easier, but the senior players have been welcoming and helpful as well. So even without the young players, that would still be all right.”
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