'Doesnt do enough'- Manchester United star made aware of key weakness amidst Amorim snub

Many have been talking about how Amorim has been underusing Kobbie Mainoo. The England international is one of the bright prospects in the country after having already represented the Three Lions senior side. But Amorim has reduced him more to a bench role, which has not sat right with a wide section of supporters.

But under Amorim so far, Mainoo is yet to start a Premier League game. The 20-year-old has slipped down the hierarchy in the second phase behind the likes of Casemiro and Ugarte. His presence has often been limited to cameo roles off the bench.

There were reports going around in the summer window which indicated that Mainoo was looking to seek a loan move to pursue regular minutes to give himself a chance for a possible potential World Cup call-up, but United declined to sanction that.

Mainoo and his off the ball problems

And now former Liverpool player Steve Nicol insists that his lack of defensive output has been found under Ruben Amorim. Speaking with ESPN ahead of United’s visit to Anfield Stadium, he spoke about Mainoo’s weakness and how he wouldn’t have much of an impact given his off the ball output. He said:

‘In my opinion, Mainoo is great with the ball at his feet but when the opposition has the ball, he doesn’t do enough,’

‘In fact, he doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t stop people getting at Man Ut’d back four. And the fact that that is one of the biggest problems United have and this guy still can’t figure it out.

‘I think basically he’s been found out because at the end of the day, when you play for the top clubs and you want to be challenging, your players have to contribute on both sides of the ball.

‘And if there is one thing Mainoo doesn’t do, it’s contribute defensively.

WAFU Opinion

These criticisms towards Mainoo hurt, given that he also hasn’t had as many opportunities to impress this season. But it’s also reasonable that in a system that requires contribution at every stage, Mainoo can’t simply skate by on flair offensively. Being benched so far this season shows that Amorim has doubts about his overall contributions and does not want to play him only for his attacking quality.

And Mainoo does have the ability to recover when possession is lost. But he must now show that in training and the part-time minutes that he gets.