Manchester United’s pre-season friendly win against Leeds United provided a glimpse of the future for fans to see and there are certainly some prospects who are knocking on the door for first-team football at Old Trafford.
The player with arguably the biggest potential and the one who is seemingly the closest to being involved is Kobbie Mainoo. The 18-year-old made his first team debut last season against Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup and is seen as the player with the brightest future.
The midfielder showed maturity beyond his years in Oslo for United, with how comfortable he looked on the ball and the passes he was spraying to his teammates made the Englishman a very assured choice in the midfield.
With Mason Mount and Hannibal Mejbri ahead of him, Maioo looked more than comfortable in the midfield three.
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Mainoo’s future
There is so much excitement around the midfielder that United’s usual protocol of loaning out youngsters to gain first-team experience is now seemingly not an option with the midfielder. The Athletic claim that the midfielder is set to stay at Old Trafford and crucially will be involved in first-team games and given senior minutes in the squad.
Erik ten Hag is said to “love him to madness” according to the same report, so the prospects of the midfielder leaving on loan seem minimal.
Ten Hag was instrumental in the gradual phasing in of Alejandro Garnacho last season, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Dutchman implore a similar trick when it comes to bringing in the talented midfielder.
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Amad and Pellistri’s future less certain
Amad Diallo and Facundo Pellistri were brought into the club under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer back in 2020. Back then, Jadon Sancho was still a Borussia Dortmund player and once United pulled the plug on that deal, attention turned to Amad and Pellistri.
Both players were touted for the future, but three years on, neither have them has been given a chance to show what they can do for United. It now seems another loan could be on the cards.
According to the same report, Ten Hag would like to assess the pair before deciding on who is loaned out. The signing of a striker could have an impact on the pair’s future. If a striker isn’t signed, Rashford could be deployed up-front again, leaving space on the wings for either of them to stake their claim in the first team.
The futures of Matej Kovar and Alvaro Fernandez are also up in the air. With the Czech goalkeeper playing against Leeds, there is a chance he could stay and be the third-choice goalkeeper. The same could be said of the young Spaniard, but whether it would be counterproductive to keep a young player behind Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia remains to be seen.