SUMMARY
- Kobbie Mainoo has earned his maiden England call-up.
- Erik ten Hag gives Kobbie Mainoo an indirect warning.
Kobbie Mainoo has had his breakthrough season in 2023/24. In addition to becoming a regular starter for his club, Manchester United, the 18-year-old also earned his maiden England call-up in March 2024.
The Englishman has demonstrated incredible skills on the ball and is expected to lead his nation in the next few years. One of the hottest prospects in the soccer community, Kobbie Mainoo, has garnered a lot of praise lately.
A brilliant story ❤️
Congratulations on your #ThreeLions debut, Kobbie Mainoo! 👏 pic.twitter.com/CsCYTNhNAN
— England (@England) March 23, 2024
However, his coach at the club level, Erik ten Hag, looks rather worried by the meteoric rise of Mainoo in the soccer world. The Dutch tactician has even revealed his intentions to discipline the 18-year-old if required.
Erik ten Hag discusses the hype around Mainoo
It has to be considered that the Englishman is still very young and doesn’t possess the necessary skills to deal with fame. Kobbie Mainoo’s career will definitely take a toll if he starts relishing money and fame more than soccer.
Manchester United would also be very disappointed to lose a gem they have unearthed after so long. Therefore, it should not surprise anybody if United’s coach gets worried about Kobbie Mainoo.
And this is exactly how Erik ten Hag has been feeling about the Englishman lately. He acknowledges that, till now, Mainoo has been a great professional, with no problems caused. However, given his young age, the club needs to give him a little special attention.
Erik ten Hag had this to say about Kobbie Mainoo, “Hype around Mainoo? So far, Kobbie handles it very well”. “If he crosses the line, of course, I as a manager, we as coaches, will interfere. But so far it is not necessary because he wants to play football, he’s great guy”.
🔴 Erik ten Hag: “Hype around Mainoo? So far, Kobbie handles it very well”.
“If he crosses the line, of course, I as a manager, we as coaches, will interfere. But so far it is not necessary because he wants to play football, he’s great guy”. pic.twitter.com/btrrAN0GnG
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 29, 2024
The 54-year-old will certainly be worried about Kobbie Mainoo’s career, given what he has faced with Jadon Sancho. The United player on loan at Borussia Dortmund was expected to do great things but had a fallout with the coach before being shipped to Germany.
The former AFC Ajax manager will certainly not be hoping for a repetition of the case with Mainoo, and he has even offered to employ his entire coaching staff to help with his career. It seems Manchester United and Erik ten Hag are both very excited to make Kobbie Mainoo the club’s next superstar.
Anton Ferdinand hails Kobbie Mainoo’s talent
While people at Manchester United still want the player to remain a little under the radar, English people look overly excited about the 18-year-old. Some of them are impressed by how Kobbie Mainoo has made the jump from youth to senior soccer look so easy.
Anton Ferdinand, the former soccer player and Rio Ferdinand’s brother, has probably gone a bit too far with his praises for Mainoo. And in doing so, he might have upset some of the Arsenal fans.
The former West Ham player has termed Kobbie Mainoo ‘a generational and an unbelievable talent’ after he made his debut for England. He said, “Kobbie Mainoo is an unbelievable talent. A generational talent, 100 percent. Not just on the ball but the way he is on the pitch.” The 18-year-old’s maturity in dealing with senior soccer has especially impressed Anton.
Anton Ferdinand: “Kobbie Mainoo is an unbelievable talent. A generational talent, 100 per cent,’ Ferdinand said. ‘Not just on the ball but the way he is on the pitch.”
“To go from the Under-18s straight to the first team and look like he’s been there for years tells you… pic.twitter.com/YwgKfaFScl
— Gunners (@Gunnersc0m) March 28, 2024
However, Anton Ferdinand also indirectly slandered Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka while praising Mainoo. He believes that the Manchester United player has had a much more brilliant start to his senior career than Saka.
Anton said, “People talk about Saka. Saka weren’t doing this in my opinion. He weren’t doing this at 18. It is the truth. What was he doing?” These are perhaps the media attention that Erik ten Hag doesn’t want Kobbie Mainoo to receive. The English media is way too overappreciative of its homegrown players, which has impacted the players negatively.
History is filled with several such players who faltered later on after being initially hyped up by the media. It is therefore advisable for Kobbie Mainoo to focus on his game for now and ignore the widespread media coverage about him.