Why Kobbie Mainoo's new deal is not player power creeping back, it is United's future

Photo: Kobbie Mainoo - Instagram

Kobbie Mainoo's resurgence has reignited a familiar debate among sections of the Manchester United fanbase. As soon as talk of a new contract emerged, so too did accusations of player power creeping back into United. But how?

The Loan Request

One of the most misunderstood parts of the entire first-half of the season under Ruben Amorim was that it was made to seem as if Mainoo was on strike. All reports that came out was that Mainoo stayed professional and worked hard, and Amorim backed that in press conferences.

Yes it was published that he became frustrated, but if you know football or have played it at a decent level, you will know that is completely normal.

It was well known (although it was not ideal) that Mainoo wanted to perform on loan for six months and come back for pre-season stronger. Now this does not seem like previous cases of player power we have seen at the club.

Behaviour

There is not a great amount to say on Mainoo's behaviour as a lot of it relates to the above.

He has always been a hard-working, humble player for United and that is what was reported in this period. One instance though, the infamous brother incident. I wasn’t a fan of this, it felt like the closest taste we have had to player power since the bomb squad. Luckily it did seem to be mostly the brother's doing (as he thinks he is famous), it is also nice to see the club not making a massive deal of it and sort it internally.

I wouldn’t want any more of this type of interference though.

On-pitch Performance

Some fans have been incredibly harsh on this topic.

Yes he was poor against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup disaster, and he did struggle to come into games as a sub, but what do you expect? He played very little football.

Now I am not saying this is the wrong decision because I fully backed Amorim. But that doesn’t mean he should be robbed of a chance to play and show what he can do under new management, after proving his ability on the biggest stage in the past. And when that opportunity came, he took it.

Mainoo's recent performances have been a reminder of why he broke through in the first place: composure under pressure, intelligence in possession, and an ability to dictate tempo far beyond his years.

I also want to add, the board clearly wanted to keep Mainoo, proved by how quickly they began contract talks after Amorim's departure. Now, you can take this two ways, were the owners weak? Or were they smart by seeing if Amorim would stay before offering Mainoo an improved deal?

Given his performances in recent matches, the latter seems to be the case.

This article was penned by HonestUnited, one of the contributors on The United Take. Be sure to check him out over on X here.