Wayne Rooney blasts Man United player for ‘jogging’ against Man City, ‘you want to see more’
Kobbie Mainoo made his second Premier League appearance of the season with a late cameo in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City and has received mixed reactions.
The defeat leaves Ruben Amorim and his players stranded in 14th place and just a point above the relegation zone, meaning this is the worst start to a season Manchester United have made for 33 years.
The Red Devils struggled to make an impact in transition, with both Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes unable to find a numerical advantage in midfield.
The introduction of Kobbie Mainoo after 62 minutes was helpful but by that point, City were 2-0 up and scored their third just six minutes after the change.
Wayne Rooney criticises Kobbie Mainoo’s attitude
Despite only being afforded 28 minutes, Mainoo was impressive. His 100% pass accuracy from 18 passes gave United more stability and control in congested areas while his nutmeg on Nico Gonzalez left Pep Guardiola with his hands on his head.
Speaking on ‘The Wayne Rooney Show‘ podcast, the former Man United striker was wholly unimpressed with 20-year-old Mainoo.
Man United blocked a loan move for Mainoo and the pressure is now on to perform for the Old Trafford faithful.
Rooney said: “I think a few of the lads, like, Kobbie Mainoo, he didn’t get a move away. I’ve seen, apparently, he asked for a long move, which that’s concerning.
“If an 18 year old lad from Manchester is asking to leave the club, that’s very concerning. But he come on the pitch and he’s jogging around, he’s jogging around and we know what potential he’s got.
“He might be a bit annoyed and frustrated, but you come on and that, the attitude against Manchester City, you want to see more.”
Owen Hargreaves disagrees with Wayne Rooney
Owen Hargreaves, one of Rooney’s former Manchester United teammates, viewed the Mainoo cameo a lot differently.
Speaking live on Premier League productions during Sunday’s coverage of the Manchester derby, Hargreaves revealed he is baffled how Mainoo doesn’t feature in Amorim’s starting lineup.
Hargreaves said: “How Kobbie Mainoo doesn’t play in this team I’ll never know.
“He came on for that game and in half hour he was probably their best player, by a country mile. So first of all he’s got to play.”
Mainoo has played a total of 73 minutes in the Premier League this season but if he wants to beat the 1,666 minutes from last season, the English midfielder needs to break into Amorim’s team.
Amorim has already told Mainoo how to become a starter at Manchester United so it is now up to him to make the changes the manager is looking for.