Manchester United fans would be forgiven for wondering where Kobbie Mainoo was when the club released a batch of images from the first day of pre-season training last week. After all, he has not played a minute at the World Cup, so where could he be?
The answer, unfortunately, is that he has spent the last six weeks warming England’s substitute bench. This, for a player of Mainoo’s calibre, is simply unacceptable and yet another blow in what has been a tricky season for the academy graduate.
While hopes are high that football might finally be coming home, Mainoo has likely given up all hope of playing a single minute in this summer’s tournament and will probably be counting the days until he can return to United and Michael Carrick, a manager who truly respects him.
Since Carrick took charge at the Red Devils in January, Mainoo has reminded everybody of the immense skills he possesses. These are skills that were, for some unknown reason, completely ignored by former United manager Ruben Amorim.
Despite having played barely any football in the first half of the season, the England international excelled after returning to the game and played a pivotal role in United qualifying for the Champions League. His incredible performances, which peaked in a goalscoring display against local rivals Liverpool, rightly attracted the attention of England manager Thomas Tuchel, who opted to include him in his World Cup squad.