After a dominant display against Ipswich Town, Paul Scholes tips the revitalised Academy graduate, Kobbie Mainoo, to anchor the midfield alongside summer signings in Michael Carrick’s new-look side.
Manchester United have had a mixed start to the new campaign, with a win and a defeat against two newly promoted sides.
An opening day loss at Hull City was soon followed by a commanding 5-2 victory at Old Trafford against Ipswich Town.
One of the changes Michael Carrick made to his team in that game was bringing Kobbie Mainoo into the midfield alongside Youri Tielemans, with Andrey Santos dropping to the bench.
The Academy graduate was arguably the best player on the pitch but missed out on the Man of the Match award following Bruno Fernandes' hat-trick heroics.
Mainoo, 21, has excelled since Carrick arrived midway through last season but experienced struggles beforehand under Ruben Amorim.
Paul Scholes tips Mainoo for "future" role
Mainoo had not started a single Premier League game last term before Amorim was dismissed, and it looked like he would depart the club himself on loan.
United's No.37 also failed to play a single minute during England's third-placed World Cup campaign.
But his fortunes have changed, and the youngster is once again an important player at Old Trafford.
United legend Paul Scholes has been speaking about Mainoo this week and explained why he thinks the midfielder is the 'future' at the club.
"I think he is capable of being the future of the midfield," Scholes said in a video with SPORTbible.
"Look, he’s going to get better; he’s still a young kid and missed a lot of football because he’d been out of favour.
"When he did play last year, look, he was all right, but he’d missed a lot of football, so it’s always going to take him a little bit of time.
"But I think if he gets the right partner next to him, I’ve no doubt the ability is there."
Who is Mainoo's perfect partner?
Mainoo was outstanding in his first start of the season and is likely to keep his place in the team this weekend against Everton.
Despite a midfield rebuild taking place at the club this summer, with Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba joining, Mainoo will want to keep starting consistently.
While he started alongside Tielemans last time out, many fans are excited to see how Baleba and Mainoo can perform as a midfield pairing.
As Scholes suggested, the perfect partner could help Mainoo reach an even higher level at Old Trafford, and Carrick will be eager to find that balance in the engine room.
While he has improved without the ball, a high-energy partner, like Baleba, could get the best out of the Manchester United youngster. The Cameroon international would allow Mainoo to focus on his playmaking and dribbling, which makes him such a threat further forward, rather than on the defensive side of the game, as he did against Ipswich Town.
