Kobbie Mainoo was once again sublime for Manchester United as they took on Luton Town.
The 18-year-old wonderkid is continuing to blow away the footballing world in his breakthrough season, with yet another cultured performance in the Premier League.
Thanks to his electric displays, there is now a conversation in the air as to whether he should be in and around the England squad particularly with Euro 2024 just around the corner.
Micah Richards, who already has had high praise for the youngster, had his say on this.
Micah Richards would 100% take Kobbie Mainoo to EURO 2024, but…
Speaking immediately after the game on the The Rest Is Football podcast, Richards sat down with Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer to discuss Mainoo. Lineker initially brought up the United starlet.
“I mentioned Mainoo. I really like him,” Lineker begins. “I saw Ian Wright tonight Tweet tonight that he has to be in the England squad and there is a position available.”
Richards gave his thoughts on this. “It’s always a tough one isn’t it?” he begins.
“In regard to ability I would 100% take him. Because he’s dealt with the whole pressure of playing for Manchester United and fitting in.
“Do you remember a couple of games back he actually made a mistake which led to a goal, but he bounced back from that. It didn’t affect him. You see his true character there.
“The only thing is, if we rush him too soon – is it gonna spoil him? Is that going to be too much pressure? I was listening to an interview with Jose Mourinho, and he said what’s special about Jude [Bellingham] is that he had football away from the English media and he was able to go about his business without having that much pressure and i just worry that if he was to go and play and do well – are we going to put too much pressure on him?
“But I do agree with you, in that position at the moment, apart from Rice, there’s probably no one playing better, so it is a little bit of a conundrum.”
Is Kobbie Mainoo England ready?
As Richards said – its a seriously tough one. His ability speaks for itself, but for any player to go on the world stage at this age is a tall order.
Mainoo has only been a regular in the Manchester United first-team squad for a few months, so there’s argument to say this could all just be too much too fast.
At the end of the day, only one mans verdict matters. Gareth Southgate. Mainoo will be a player crawling around his thoughts over the next few months, particularly if the fine displays just keep on coming.
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