Alejandro Garnacho has made it into the first team this season and Kobbie Mainoo hopes to follow in his footsteps.
Mainoo Wins Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year
Manchester United youngster Kobbie Mainoo was still beaming after a conversation with Erik ten Hag at Wembley in February.
United had just beaten Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final and in celebration there was a remarkable moment between Mainoo and Ten Hag as the academy product received some advice from the manager.
Ten Hag stood with his arm around her shoulders and Mainoo smiled. The 18-year-old made his debut against Charlton just weeks before this conversation and then his first Premier League game. Mainoo won the FA Youth Cup last year and he personally enjoyed a special 12 months. The midfielder is considered United's top academy prospect for his age and was honored with an award last week.
The Stockport-born boy is the latest student to be named Jimmy Murphy's Young Player of the Year and he took the title after half-time at Old Trafford in the penultimate game of the season against Chelsea.
Ten Hag took award-winning player Alejandro Garnacho as an example of a path to the first team and Mainoo was identified as the next talent that would close the gap, something every academy player dreams of achieving.
Although every student in the academy aspires to play for the first team, the reality is that very few achieve this ambition. Mainoo has managed to get to this point brilliantly and is considered a well-balanced character.
Those who know him best paint the picture of a likable young man with a background and he is currently working under a manager who understands the importance of giving young players a chance. , which is part of the club's structure.
"I know the culture of Man United, I've known it before. Of course, I've worked in the youth team for a long time," said Ten Hag this month. "Manchester United has a great history of training young players, developing them and getting them into the first team. “When I was at Ajax, Man United was like developing young players, giving young players the opportunity to develop their personalities if they felt they were good people, had a good life and could contribute to the team. society.
"But we want to develop players in the first team. So I think we are also on the right track from this point of view:
Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo are also on their way. There's a path to the first team but they have to earn it."
Mainoo won his first team opportunity and he wants more. Some have suggested that a loan could be the next best step for his development, but it looks more likely that he will stay in the squad next season. Hannibal Mejbri and Alvaro Fernandez, who have been successful on loan at Birmingham and Preston respectively this season, have benefited greatly from their departures, but Ten Hag prefers to keep a few young players around the team. .
There will always be academy players developed around the first team environment while Ten Hag manages the club. This is his preference, and this approach has been proven by Garnacho's continued and impressive progress.
Mainoo has a completely different personality than Garnacho but the two have in common is talent. The Argentinian has been deliberately kept around the first team and Ten Hag's comments suggest the same will happen to Mainoo. In the near future, Mainoo is said to be best equipped to specialize in the role of number 8
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