There’s no need to dwell too greatly on Kobbie Mainoo‘s England woes, although there is a nagging sense of what might have been had Thomas Tuchel at least shown just a crumb of faith in the Manchester United midfielder.
To have seen the likes of Reece James get the nod ahead of him must have been a bitter pill to swallow for the 21-year-old, with it having only been two years ago that Mainoo had helped to steer the Three Lions to the final of Euro 2024.
Alas, Tuchel’s loss might be Michael Carrick‘s gain, with Mainoo set to return to Carrington with a vengeance later this summer.
As Ruben Amorim is no doubt aware, the Stockport-born starlet has previous for leaving managers looking a little red-faced.
Why 2026/27 could prove to be Mainoo’s best season yet at Man Utd
The aftermath of the Argentina defeat has once again sparked the same old debates, with pundits, supporters and even Tuchel himself questioning England’s inability to keep possession, something deep-rooted in the nation’s ‘DNA’.
Well, Thomas, you had the perfect man for the job sat looking on helplessly from the bench, with Mainoo the type of midfielder the country has long been crying out for. Instead, as ever, the physicality of the likes of Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson won the day.
That’s not Mainoo or Carrick’s problem, with the youngster hopefully gearing up for what could be his best season yet, set to enjoy a full pre-season and campaign with the perfect manager to guide and nurture him.
It’s fair to say that he does need a real period of calm and consistency, with it having been a wild ride since that breakout 2023/24 season, a period that ended with his FA Cup final heroics.
Even then, injury had ensured that Mainoo’s first Premier League start didn’t come until November 2023, while in the following campaign, fitness woes – alongside the arrival of Amorim – hampered his progress, as he started just 19 league games.
|
Mainoo – PL Record |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Games (Starts) |
Goals (Assists) |
|
25/26 |
28 (16) |
1 (2) |
|
24/25 |
25 (19) |
0 (0) |
|
23/24 |
24 (24) |
3 (1) |
|
22/23 |
1 (0) |
0 (0) |
|
Total |
78 (59) |
4 (3) |
Things soured even more in the first half of last season, with it not until Carrick walked in the door that Mainoo actually started a league game, prior to enjoying a fine six months to propel himself into Tuchel’s World Cup squad.
With there a sense of calm surrounding Old Trafford again, it could be the ideal season for the playmaker to put together a sustained run of form, with a new-look midfield taking shape under Carrick’s watch.
Why Carrick could work his Mainoo magic with £75m target
United supporters are likely to get a first look at new man Andrey Santos in Saturday’s pre-season opener against Wrexham, although Youri Tielemans’ debut is likely to come in August, following the Belgian’s World Cup involvement.
The £85m pair could well be joined by another midfield arrival before too long, with INEOS still considering a raft of primarily Premier League-proven targets.
Sander Berge, a star of Norway’s World Cup campaign, is among them, although so too is Carlos Baleba, with the Brighton and Hove Albion man previously agreeing personal terms a year ago.
In the view of journalist Ben Jacobs – speaking to the United Stand – Baleba is still intent on making that switch, with a deal on the player side already somewhat in place after last year’s interest.
“If they’re prepared to meet the asking price, they could again do it relatively quickly because he is in a scenario like Youri Tielemans where he said last summer he only wants Manchester United, and the player’s perspective hasn’t changed. So if they come calling, personal terms will not be a problem.
“They could get the player buy-in, which means that they could get that singular negotiation with Brighton instead of a bidding war. But we’re just not at that stage yet because it’s Manchester United that have put the brakes on as they assess who this third midfielder is going to be.”
As Jacobs also relayed, United were willing to invest £75m for the Cameroonian in 2025, with the only issue now as to whether they will be willing to meet the Seagulls’ asking price, particularly after a difficult year for the player.
Indeed, in 2025/26, Baleba appeared to suffer after seeing his hopes of joining United dashed, ultimately making only 23 league starts, while notably hooked at half-time in three of the first seven games of the season.
Such form has ensured there are alarm bells ringing, but as Mainoo’s last 18 month or so has shown, the course of a young player’s career never does run smooth – should he really be written off already?
It was only six months ago that Mainoo looked almost certain to leave on loan under Amorim, having fallen firmly out of favour. Then, before the season had even ended, a change in fortunes saw the local hero pen a new long-term deal.
Things can develop so quickly, particularly at that age, with there still a talent there in Baleba’s case for Carrick to nurture, as the 22-year-old highlighted in 2024/25.
Baleba was immense that year, scoring three goals, boasting an 88% pass accuracy rate while averaging 3.7 tackles and interceptions per game, looking like such a force in his number six berth.
Like Mainoo, he is someone who can orchestrate things from deep, while possessing the quality to glide forward to help spark attacks, having averaged one successful dribble per game that season.
For context, in Mainoo’s breakout 2023/24 campaign, his average was only just ahead in that regard at 1.3.
There’s a completeness to Baleba’s game, like Mainoo, that truly is eye-catching, with it perhaps a case that he simply needs a little fine-tuning under the right coach.
Well, as Carrick has shown with United’s number 37, he’s arguably the perfect person to help get a young midfielder back to their best again.
