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While the Premier League has been stunned by Kobbie Mainoo, one of his teammates got a taste of things to come far earlier.
The Manchester United youngster has not only convinced Erik ten Hag in record time, but Gareth Southgate too.
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The England manager has rewarded the 18-year-old with a first senior call-up, and Mainoo could now debut in friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
And the way things are going, it’s certainly not out of the question that he could book a spot at Euro 2024 having made himself a starting XI regular in his breakthrough season.
Last time out Mainoo impressed as he showed off against a vastly more experienced Liverpool midfield, helping United to a famous 4-3 FA Cup quarter-final win.
Many were left blown away by the teenager, but not teammate Harry Maguire, who’s had his eye on him for a long time.
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“I’ve been a massive fan of Kobbie’s since he first started training with us,” the defender explained.
“I remember talking to Tom Heaton about him and I was saying, ‘I feel like this boy has got everything’.
“He can handle the ball brilliantly. He’s really strong, powerful, and you can see his progression to play that number six role, especially for United.
“The ‘six’ role is a huge responsibility and I’m sure the positional part of his game will improve drastically.”
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Mainoo was arguably Man of the Match against Liverpool as a defensive midfielder alongside Scott McTominay, and showed his huge promise against a highly-rated midfield trio.
That performance may have tipped Southgate towards making the call, and Maguire thinks it’s entirely justified, especially considering his mental likeness to one other star youngster in the squad.
“You’ve seen the amount of ability and talent he has, and he fully deserves his call-up,” the former United captain said. “A role and responsibility for the senior players at Manchester United is to bring through academy players.
“The club is always built on giving opportunities to youngsters, we have numerous of them training with us a lot, we try to make them feel welcome and we have done that to Kobbie.
“I didn’t have any concerns about Kobbie. It’s incredible he’s only 18, he’s so mature. He’s a bit like Jude [Bellingham] when he was a young boy. He’s got a mature head on his shoulders.
“I see day in, day out, his ability in training. I’ve congratulated him, he thoroughly deserves this. He has been excellent for us this season.”
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But can Mainoo book his seat on the plan to Euro 2024?
“I don’t see why not,” Maguire added. “To play at a major tournament, it’s big to have experience but also the young ones do come in and sometimes they play with no fear and can excel.
“We have a lot of good centre-mids, players who have shown that they can do it in major tournaments.
“He’ll keep working hard, I’m sure he will, because he’s a great lad. And we will see where it goes.”
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