Graeme Souness believes United are overly reliant on Kobbie Mainoo in midfield (Image: GETTY)
Graeme Souness has accused Manchester United of being overly reliant on Kobbie Mainoo as part of a blistering attack on the Red Devils. United have endured a stuttering start to the new Premier League campaign with two defeats from their opening three matches.
They beat Fulham in their first game before suffering back-to-back losses at the hands of Brighton and Liverpool. United were desperately poor against their Merseyside rivals, who breezed to a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford without ever looking under threat.
Liverpool legend Souness showed no restraint as he tore into United during a no-holds-barred appearance on talkSPORT. He argued that Mainoo should not be carrying the midfield at his age, with United fans guilty of overhyping their academy players because they have little else to get excited about.
The teenage midfielder has emerged as one of the Premier League’s best young talents (Image: GETTY)
“I have to say this, I’m not being unkind, Mainoo might be a player, but it’s so Man United,” began Souness. “This is not to be critical of Man United, it’s never been any different, but when someone comes on the scene at Man United, in my days they were the new George Best, or the new Bobby Charlton, the new Denis Law.
“It is FC Hollywood. They call Bayern Munich in Germany ‘FC Hollywood’, that’s Man United here. If anyone shows anything, they’re put into superstardom category, way before they’ve even become a good player.
“Mainoo right now should be a player that’s flitting in and out of a good team, not coming in and being asked to stand up and play against the very best teams. He might be a player one day, but he’s certainly not the go-to man at United like they’re making him out to be.”
Mainoo is undoubtedly one of the best prospects in English football, having emerged as a key man for the Red Devils since breaking through last season. However, there is a case to be made that his development could be hampered by United being overly reliant on him.
The academy graduate has been forced to carry United in the engine room for too long but will get some extra support when Manuel Ugarte settles in at Old Trafford. He joined the club on deadline day and could make his Premier League debut against Southampton next weekend.
United could soon be left shorter in midfield than they were last season, even with Ugarte in their squad. It has been reported that Casemiro could join Galatasaray over the coming days, with the transfer window in Turkey staying open until September 13.
It comes after Scott McTominay secured a permanent move to Napoli at the end of last month following weeks of protracted negotiations.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1944385/Graeme-Souness-Man-Utd-Kobbie-Mainoo