Mainoo Shines Amid Manchester United's £150m Rebuild

The transfer window is crawling towards its deadline, but nobody in football is easing off. Deals, sagas, late gambles – it’s all still crackling.

At Old Trafford, though, the story of the weekend wasn’t a new signing at all.

Mainoo, the £0m midfielder outshining a £150m rebuild

Manchester United have spent about £150m ripping up and rebuilding their midfield this summer. On Sunday, in a 5-2 dismantling of Ipswich, their standout performer came not from a glossy unveiling but from the academy pitches of Cheadle and Stockport: Kobbie Mainoo.

The 21-year-old ran the game. Energy, control, aggression, calmness on the ball – the lot. He looked like the expensive one in a midfield full of them.

Harry Maguire, watching much of Mainoo’s work unfold in front of him, did not hold back. “I thought he was brilliant, Kobbie,” the defender said. “To say he hasn’t played for I don’t know how long – not really got many minutes in pre-season and things like that, he was magnificent. He put a great shift in and I think his work without the ball has improved so much since Michael [Carrick, the manager] has been in.”

Maguire pointed straight at the transformation off the ball. “That’s probably credit to Michael and his staff. But I think without the ball now, he’s becoming a real monster in there, and he wins a lot of second balls. He wins a lot of duels. You won’t want to play against him in there and that’s the biggest compliment I can give to him from playing and watching him behind.”

This wasn’t just a one-off rave about a good afternoon. Maguire was looking a decade ahead. “He’s so young, if we want him to play for this club for another 10 years, there’s going to be times where he’s going to go through a patch like with Rashy and myself, but that’s part and parcel. I think he’s really level-headed, he’s really composed, he has great belief in his ability and, he’s going to be a magnificent play for this club for many, many years.”

United’s accountants have spent the summer. Their academy, again, might have delivered the most important piece.