Manchester United’s midfield right now is in better shape than it has been for years, but another addition is still being sought, specifically a number six.
Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans are excellent additions, but neither are that true natural number six, more being eights.
Manchester United want another midfielder, and this one is expected to be more of a specialist defensive midfielder.
Although with Michael Carrick reportedly wanting to build a PSG-like midfield, maybe he won’t be looking to get a big monster six, instead backing two or three all-rounders in the middle.
Links to Manu Kone suggest this, with Kobbie Mainoo’s evolution as a footballer showcasing why United might not necessarily need a six.
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Kobbie Mainoo could end up playing as a six for Manchester United
While a luxury midfielder with his brilliant call carrying, evasive movement, increasingly impressive progressive passing and ball striking, Mainoo is also becoming a savvy defensive midfielder.
Outdated criticisms of Mainoo point toward his lack of athleticism or defensive discipline, but the stats tell the story, that he is becoming better off the ball.
Using Scout Lab, we can see the progression of Mainoo’s defensive qualities, starting with his recoveries.
- 23/24 – 4.46 recoveries per 90
- 24/25 – 4.78 recoveries per 90
- 25/26 – 5.17 recoveries per 90
As evidenced, Mainoo’s rate of making recovery runs since his debut campaign has steadily improved, with his role under Carrick partially to thank for last season’s jump as he was tasked with doing a lot.
The rate in which Mainoo has been winning his ground duels has also improved over the years.
- 23/24 – 35.04% ground duels won
- 24/25 – 36.37% ground duels won
- 25/26 – 38.78% ground duels won
This is thanks to his impressive strength which has remained with him despite Mainoo slimming down a bit over the past year. The defensive qualities Mainoo has shown can be seen in how he has prevented threat, with slight improvements since his debut.
- 23/24 – 0.29 xThreat prevented per 90
- 24/25 – 0.28 xThreat prevented per 90
- 25/26 – 0.30 xThreat prevented per 90
Where we really see the player he has become under Carrick is in the more traditional aspects of defending, such as box clearances, with Mainoo’s output in this aspect more than doubling from 2024/25 to 2025/26.
This tells the story that Mainoo is spending more time defending his box, sitting deeper than he had been previously and also having the defensive instinct to get to loose balls in the box and clear them from danger, which emphasises his positioning.
- 23/24 – 0.61 box clearances per 90
- 24/25 – 0.53 box clearances per 90
- 25/26 – 1.07 box clearances per 90
The 2025/26 season also saw Mainoo blocking more shots than ever before, again showing how improved he is as a defender of the box in deep midfield positions.
- 23/24 – 0.36 blocked shots per 90
- 24/25 – 0.14 blocked shots per 90
- 25/26 – 0.61 blocked shots per 90
Mainoo has almost been forced to adapt and excel at these aspects of the game because he has been playing in midfield with Casemiro, who had left Mainoo as a one man defence for most of the campaign, yet he managed to thrive.
Mainoo and Santos or Mainoo and Tielemans both work as a pairing due to this. Both pairings can defend and also attack, somewhat limiting the need for a true six like Carlos Baleba.
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Kobbie Mainoo’s on ball ability is also suited to more defensive areas of the pitch
Mainoo’s ability off the ball is so underrated and he deserves a lot of praise for evolving as a player, because he wasn’t always impressive in these aspects.
The defensive qualities are added to his on-ball talent, making him a very well rounded midfielder.
Mainoo is on-the-ball the perfect six, he can receive the ball deep, under pressure and in any situation and trusted to progress play through his dribbling or passing.
Mainoo shares this strength with Santos, meaning either are an outlet for Senne Lammens and the defenders, unlike last season when Casemiro couldn’t be trusted as he couldn’t handle being pressed and often treated the ball like a bomb.
Carrick evidently wants a midfield that will control games, which Mainoo offers, but his quality on the other side is also a big plus and could mean a new six isn’t needed.
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