Manchester United caretaker manager Michael Carrick has praised the attitude and performance of midfielder Kobbie Mainoo ahead of Sunday’s clash against Arsenal.
The 20-year-old has endured a difficult time at the club over the past few months and had not started a league game this season until the arrival of Carrick.
He made his first league start of the season in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Manchester City, delivering a brilliant performance for the Red Devils at the middle of the park.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with Kobbie. I’ve known him since he was young, I think I started working with him a little bit when he was 13 or 14 years old when I was going through my badges”, Carrick revealed.
“This club needs young players coming through and being the foundation, to understand what it means, not just for the players for the club and supporters. It’s something we need to grasp and keep building on.
Kobbie is a prime example, to have come through so quickly and have the rapid rise and impact those big games at such a young age shows an awful lot of quality in terms of the character to be able to handle it.”, the former Middlesbrough manager added.
Mainoo’s contract expires in 18 months, with the club already interested in negotiating with the midfielder over an extension.
The youngster has been linked with an exit over the last two transfer windows, but could now pen a long-term contract at the club.
“Part of a career is a few ups and downs and sometimes it goes on different trajectories but we saw last week what he can bring. He is quite straight-faced but you could see the way he played and expressed himself he was enjoying himself. To see him like that was great”, Carrick concluded.
Manchester United visit the Emirates on Sunday to face league leaders Arsenal, hoping to continue their perfect start to life under their caretaker manager.
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