Manchester United’s season so far has had many success stories despite the team not doing well, but the most surprising of the lot has been Casemiro.
Casemiro was widely tagged as one player who would be frozen out by Ruben Amorim when the new Man Utd manager came through the doors.
That proved to be the case too, as Casemiro struggled immensely in Amorim’s high-energy system, with the manager even saying he’s not good enough for his style of football in England.
Since then, Casemiro’s resurgence has seen Amorim accept he’s been proven wrong, even if it meant a tactical change to free the Brazilian.
Another Man Utd star has been identified now by Amorim as someone who can have a transformation just like Casemiro.
Ruben Amorim identifies next project at Man Utd after Casemiro
Amorim’s time at Man Utd so far has been more of a revolution instead of an evolution and that has meant some casualties are bound to occur.
To Casemiro’s credit, he’s fought back into relevance when he was cast aside as a casualty after both, he and the manager worked together to get him back to his best.
A tactical change saw Casemiro flourish and according to Amorim, it has provided a template for another beleaguered Man Utd star to transform his fortunes just like the Brazilian.
The Man Utd manager namechecked Kobbie Mainoo as someone who will benefit more by working with him as he gets to know him better.
Amorim said: “We need to help him. Casemiro is playing better because we are understanding better the way Casemiro can play. I think we can do that with Kobbie. He is good on the ball and near the opponent’s box.
“When I see Kobbie, I see a lot of talent. But in the way I see it, I could be wrong. I see some things that Kobbie has to improve: his pace in the game. He needs to improve in the build-up.
Near the box, he has a lot of talent and that is why I think he did a really good game in the Europa League in that position. But I don’t see a full player at the moment; he is 19. If I say I have seen the final player, I don’t think I am helping Kobbie.”
Kobbie Mainoo will be better off after this experience
Since Mainoo’s breakout, his trajectory has only trended one way and that’s upwards. That can sometimes lead to relaxing of standards which stops growth.
As Amorim said, Mainoo is only 19 and needs to be continuously challenged to get better instead of cocooning him in a comfort zone.
Before his injury, Mainoo was finding new role at Man Utd as an advanced midfielder, where his close control and finishing helped him flourish.
With more time on the training pitch and playing games, Amorim, like he did with Casemiro, will devise a new plan for him that unlocks another level to his game.
These might look like difficult months for Mainoo and a step back in his development, but sometimes taking a step back is necessary to have a massive launch forward.
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