Ruben Amorim criticises two Man Utd academy talents as he defends Kobbie Mainoo treatment | Football

Ruben Amorim has hit out at ‘struggling’ Manchester United academy talents as he defends leaving Kobbie Mainoo out of his team on a regular basis.

Mainoo has been involved regularly this season, but not in the starting XI, with all 10 of his Premier League appearances coming as a substitute.

It is a disappointing demise for the England international, who shot to stardom for club and country under Erik ten Hag but has fallen out of favour under Amorim.

The Portuguese manager insists he has no issue with putting in young, homegrown players, pointing to the fact that he played Harry Amass and Chido Obi last season.

However, this came with criticism for those young prospects, pointing out that Amass is now ‘struggling’ on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, while Obi has not played in the senior side this season and is not even guaranteed to play in the Under-21s.

It is fair to say that Amass has actually been playing well for the Owls, but the team is struggling at the foot of the Championship.

On Mainoo’s situation, Amorim told a press conference: ‘It’s like any other player. The door is open for any player to change my mind. But in the end, it’s going to be the training, the games. Of course, he’s not playing so many games, but Kobbs, he had opportunities, especially last year. Everyone had.

‘Especially last year, everyone had. [Harry] Amass is now struggling in the Championship. Chido [Obi] is not always a starter in U21. All these guys played when a lot of people were saying, sack the manager. You can see that I’m not worried. In that time, everybody [said that].

‘I just look at the team and try to win the next game. I will do that until the end.

‘Kobbs is one more player that I understand all the interests. I understand how important it is. The hopes that you guys and English guys have. I also just want to win. If he’s the right guy, I will put him in. No problem.’

Amorim explains why Mainoo isn’t starting

Amorim says Mainoo’s omission from the starting XI is simply down to him being behind captain Bruno Fernandes in the pecking order.

Asked if he rates the 20-year-old, he said: ‘Of course, like everyone else. The problem is we are playing with two and you guys see Kobbie in a different way than I’m seeing.

‘Maybe if you play with three midfielders, not with just two, Kobbie will have more minutes. Imagine that this happens. Someone in front is going to lose their spot. Sometimes it’s just the moment.

‘I think I proved that if you change my mind [you can get into the team]. Casemiro is the biggest example. He was behind Toby [Collyer] and now he is a starter.’

He added: ‘I know that for you guys, there are some players that you believe a lot and I believe a lot. But sometimes they have to make choices.

‘We play with two midfielders in these games. We could change in the future. But Kobbie is playing in the same position as Bruno Fernandes. Sometimes it’s really hard to take Bruno Fernandes out of the team and that is the only reason.’

With Mainoo struggling for minutes there has been plenty of speculation over a possible January exit, with clubs including Napoli, Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid all linked with him.

However, despite clearly seeing him as second choice in his position, Amorim reportedly does not want the midfielder to leave next month.

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