Ruben Amorim to only frustrate rarely-seen Man United ace further after what he said
Ruben Amorim appears to be leaving some of his players behind despite Man United beginning to turn the tide this season.
Marcus Rashford joined Barcelona on loan during the summer transfer window, with Antony, Jadon Sancho, Rasmus Hojlund, and Andre Onana all finding new homes, either temporarily or permanently.
With just one victory in their opening five matches of the season, as Man United narrowly beat Burnley, it did not appear that all the spending had made much of a difference, at least until now.
Man United beat Brighton 4-2 to rise to sixth in the Premier League table, and despite all of the positives at Old Trafford, one player continues to struggle for minutes in the first team.
Kobbie Mainoo continues to struggle at Man United
Kobbie Mainoo wanted to leave Man United during the summer, with several big teams after his signature, but the club blocked any chance of a loan deal for the 2025-26 campaign.
His last start came in the embarrassing Carabao Cup defeat to Grimsby Town, playing just 138 minutes of Premier League football since the end of August. It’s hindering his development.
However, with Bruno Fernandes dropping deep into a new role, and the likes of Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte ahead of him in the pecking order, the situation is unlikely to resolve itself.
And while the atmosphere at Old Trafford is becoming far less toxic, especially after winning three games on the bounce, Amorim is doing very little to aid the situation with Mainoo.
Ruben Amorim is bound to be winding Man United fans up now
Speaking in his pre-match press conference (31 October), Amorim said: “We need to go to Europe! Imagine for me to have Kobbie Mainoo with the minutes that he’s playing, he needs more games for me to make a rotation”
That sentence alone feels like a slap in the face for the 20-year-old midfielder, who was desperate to leave on loan just a few weeks ago in order to get more valuable minutes on the pitch.
His exit was blocked, and whether that was by the manager or the hierarchy, Amorim’s part in the conversation is only going to frustrate the player more, and the fans, too.
Mainoo cannot play more games if the manager keeps dropping him to the bench. It really is that simple. If Amorim is not happy with the player’s game time, it is up to him to change it.