Kobbie Mainoo is back in the Man Utd team under Michael Carrick but the head coach wants to see more young players making the breakthrough at Old Trafford.
If there was concern for the future of the Manchester United academy while Ruben Amorim was in charge at Old Trafford, the club’s prestigious record of blooding young players is in safe hands while Michael Carrick is around. Amorim’s relationship with the academy wasn’t a particularly strong one and his absence from games and sidelining of Kobbie Mainoo invited mistrust.
In three weeks, Carrick has shown a very different approach. He has attended two Under-21 games and an FA Youth Cup tie, and Mainoo has played every minute of his three games in charge.
Mainoo’s renaissance has been one of the stories of Carrick’s return to the dugout. The jewel in the crown of the United academy, he is set to be offered a long-term contract that reflects his status as a key player in the first team and any concerns that he might have to leave have disappeared.
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The 20-year-old was weighing up a loan move at the start of January, having failed to start a single Premier League game under Amorim this season, but he is firmly back in the picture now and contract talks are back on the agenda.
Carrick restored Mainoo to the team because he knew he needed what the Stockport-born youngster could offer, but the 44-year-old is also steeped in United’s traditions and although his contract is only until the end of the season, he has been a visible presence around the academy.
This week, he included 15-year-old forward JJ Gabriel in first-team training, even though he is too young to appear in the Premier League this season. He also called up 17-year-old full-back Yuel Helafu, twins Jack and Tyler Fletcher, 18, and 20-year-old midfielder Jack Moorhouse.
Carrick’s focus on delivering Champions League football for United this season might prevent him from handing out many appearances to those young players, but over time, he is determined to see more of the club’s academy graduates given their chance and believes there is nothing better than giving a young player their opportunity.
“We want more, we want more players to come through the system and to get into the first team,” said Carrick. “For me, there’s no better feeling than giving younger players a chance. He’s [Mainoo] taken the chance over recent weeks and I am sure he will continue to do that.
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“Obviously, with Munich and the kind of the foundation of the football club, everything feeds off that. I’m not putting everything on Kobbie’s shoulders, he’s doing terrific at the moment and I’m sure he’ll continue to be that way.”
United’s record of including an academy graduate in every matchday squad now extends into an 89th year, although there were times under Amorim when you did fear how much longer it would last and whether it would become a tick-box exercise.
That is no longer the case. Mainoo is in the team on merit and Shea Lacey has also become part of the first-team picture in recent weeks.
Lacey, 18, was handed six minutes of football under Amorim and was an unused substitute in seven of the eight occasions he was named on the bench. Darren Fletcher gave the winger minutes against Burnley and Brighton and he was back in the squad under Carrick last weekend.
“I think from the club’s point of view, there’s an ideal scenario to bring players through the academy and have them in the team and have them go through their career at this club, staying in and around it,” said Carrick.
“I think I was fortunate enough to be with a lot of players that managed to do that, and I think it’s important.”
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