Harry Maguire has revealed what he first told his team-mate when he saw Kobbie Mainoo train with the first-team at Manchester United.
Mainoo has emerged as one of the nation’s most promising young midfielders after a brilliant breakthrough season at Old Trafford in which he has become a key part of Erik ten Hag’s side.
The teenager has made 20 senior appearances for the Red Devils this term, and has scored one of the goals of the season in the Premier League against Wolves to win the game in stoppage time earlier in the campaign.
Since then he has continued to flourish and even earned a first ever England senior call-up from Gareth Southgate, and is now in line to play a part in the upcoming friendly clashes with Brazil (Saturday) and Belgium (Tuesday) at Wembley.
So prodigious is his talent that he seemingly made a lasting impression on Maguire on his first forays into Man United senior training, with the defender revealing what he said to Tom Heaton.
Harry Maguire was full of praise for Kobbie Mainoo amid the teenager’s breakthrough season
Mainoo has gone on to make 20 senior appearances for Manchester United and has become a key part of Erik ten Hag’s midfield
‘I’ve been a massive fan of Kobbie’s since he first started training with us,’ he admitted.
‘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 No 6 role, especially for United.
‘The ‘six’ role is a huge responsibility and I’m sure the positional part of his game will improve drastically.’
After emerging earlier in the season, he has since provided healthy competition to established world stars Casemiro and Christian Eriksen in the middle of the park.
Mainoo has since been added to the England squad by Gareth Southgate, joining up with the rest of the team earlier this week ahead of Saturday’s clash with Brazil.
And Maguire paid Mainoo a massive compliment when he compared him to one of his new midfield team-mates with the Three Lions.
‘You’ve seen the amount of ability and talent he has, and he fully deserves his call-up. A role and responsibility for the senior players at Manchester United is to bring through academy players.
Maguire revealed that he believed Mainoo had ‘everything’ when he first saw him train
The England centre half compared his team-mate to Three Lions star Jude Bellingham for his maturity
‘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.’
Should Mainoo make his bow for England in this round of international fixtures, he will become the 14th male player this century to do so before turning 19.
