Kobbie Mainoo is “in a good place” as he prepares for what could be his first start of the post-Ruben Amorim era at Manchester United, caretaker boss Darren Fletcher has revealed.
Aside from his divisive formation, no other subject plagued Amorim’s ill-fated tenure as United manager like his usage of Mainoo. The 20-year-old, widely hailed as one of the club’s best academy graduates in years, has not started in the Premier League this season and only managed 16 appearances across all competitions under the now-departed manager.
Things got so bleak for Mainoo that he requested to leave the club on loan in the summer and was thought to be pushing for a temporary exit this month as well, only for Amorim to insist he should remain as valuable backup to Bruno Fernandes.
With a fresh start now on the horizon, however, Mainoo is thought to be in high spirits behind the scenes.
“He seems in a good place,” Fletcher explained. “Kobbie doesn’t give you much, so you wouldn’t know if he was in a good place or not so good. He’s like that. That’s his natural way.
“But I know him well and I’ve known him for a long time. I’ve seen him around throughout the season and I’ve had conversations with him in general, but he’s in a good place.
“I know Kobbie and I think he knows me and he knows [interim first-team coach] Travis Binnion, so he’s comfortable with his environment, he’s in a good place, he’s trained well.”
Mainoo Hoping for Rare Man Utd Start
Mainoo’s Old Trafford future will be one of the first issues handed to United’s interim manager.
Former players Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Michael Carrick and Ruud van Nistelrooy are all thought to be under consideration for a role which would buy United time in their search for a permanent replacement to Amorim.
Fletcher will take charge of Sunday’s FA Cup third-round game against Brighton & Hove Albion, which could present Mainoo with just a second start of the season after the infamous Carabao Cup defeat to Grimsby Town.
“I think we’ve had good success in the competition in recent years—won it a couple years ago, lost in a final,” Fletcher continued. “It’s an amazing competition. It’s the first trophy that I won as a player. It’s a special tournament.
“With the season so far—not in Europe, out of the League Cup, Premier League obviously—the FA Cup’s a trophy that we should be vying to win and giving ourselves every opportunity to win.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kobbie Mainoo’s Reaction to Ruben Amorim’s Man Utd Exit Revealed.
