Kobbie Mainoo’s Man Utd future predicted by Bryan Robson after new midfield signings

Kobbie Mainoo still has a future at Manchester United despite not starting in their Premier League opener against Hull City, in addition to their new three midfield signings.

That is according to Man Utd legend Bryan Robson, who thinks the 21-year-old will be given plenty of opportunities to stake his claim for a starting spot this season.

The England international was called up to Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions squad for this summer’s World Cup but the midfielder didn’t play a single minute in the tournament.

In fact, he was the only outfield player in the England squad who got zero minutes on the pitch during the competition, highlighting how unproductive his time in North America was.

Mainoo was a regular under Michael Carrick in the second half of last season, after being on the brink of leaving the club under Ruben Amorim, but had to make do with a second-half cameo in the 2-0 loss to Hull on Saturday.

And despite summer signings Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans starting ahead of Mainoo, alongside the more advanced Bruno Fernandes, Robson thinks the Man Utd academy product will force his way into the team soon.

He believes that Mainoo will play with Fernandes, leaving for the likes of Tielemans, Santos, and new signing Carlos Baleba to fight it out for the last starting spot in midfield.

He said on talkSPORT on Wednesday, “When Kobe came in for the last 20 minutes [against Hull], apart from Harry Maguire, I thought he was the only one who took command of the ball and kept it nice and tidy. He looked OK.

“For me, I think he’ll get back into the team and it’ll be somebody else playing alongside him with Fernandes further forward.

“I can see that’s the way it’ll go because I think Kobe will get better the more games he’s got because unfortunately for him, he went to the World Cup and he didn’t get any minutes on the pitch.

“But he’s a terrific player and he showed that in the back half of last season. United have got decent options in there but like I say, I thought the lads who came back from the World Cup weren’t at it.”

Man Utd allowed Casemiro to leave as a free agent last summer, while Manuel Ugarte suffered a knee ligament injury over the summer.

That effectively meant Man Utd were two midfielders down for the new season, something that was addressed by the signings of Tielemans (£35m), Santos (£50m), and Baleba (£70m).

Whether Mainoo can get back into the Man Utd starting XI remains to be seen.