Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann thinks Man Utd star Kobbie Mainoo “has the potential to become one of the best midfielders in England”.
The Red Devils academy product suffered a muscle injury in the closing stages of Man Utd’s 0-0 draw against Aston Villa at the beginning of October.
However, he was back in the side in a 4-0 win over Everton for the first time in almost two months as new Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim celebrated his first win at Old Trafford in the Premier League.
Amorim admitted after the comfortable victory against the Toffees on Sunday that playing Mainoo for 80 minutes was “a little bit of a risk”.
The Man Utd boss said: “We have lots of players returning from injury, Kobbie Mainoo was a little bit of a risk because he was to play just 60 minutes.”
Now Mainoo is back in the Man Utd side and Hamann reckons the England midfielder can push on to become a key player for both club and country.
Hamann told Genting Casino: “I think Kobbie Mainoo is a very interesting player. The way he played for England in the summer, for a young boy to come in, that was impressive.
“Last season he scored some important goals. I think Mainoo is a fantastic talent.
“If you look at the top teams, obviously Declan Rice is another one. It depends whether you see Rice in the holding role or as more of an offensive player. I’ve always seen him as a holding player and would like him to keep it simple.
“Martin Odegaard, he missed a lot of games for Arsenal over the last few months and that was a very big miss for them because central midfield is the area where games are won and lost.
“Odegaard can control the tempo of a game and if you can control that engine room; control that midfield, you control games. If you do that, you’ll win more games than you lose.
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“Liverpool are doing that this season. That is a big part of their success so far and Ryan Gravenberch looks like a new signing.
“Curtis Jones, he has been a revelation. Both players have been squad players at best in the last one or two seasons. They are vital players for the club now and this is what the managerial change has done.
“There are some fantastic central midfield players, but Mainoo is probably the one I’d be most interested in watching where he goes over the next couple of years.
“I think Mainoo can defend and attack, which is a good thing. When you play in central midfield with two players, I think it’s very important that you haven’t got similar players.
“You need players with different qualities that complement each other. I think Mainoo has discipline and if he wants to do it, he could be one of the best holding players. Then again, he gets his shot off. He’s got a trick as well. He can score goals.
“If you play him next to a Declan Rice, as he does sometimes for England, I think he can play higher. If his future is as a number 8, then I think he will need to get six, seven, or eight goals from open play in a season.
“I think he’s capable of doing that if he puts his mind to it. I think he has the potential to become one of the best midfielders in England.”
