It is the first time United legend Paul Scholes has advised a Manchester United player to move to rivals Chelsea, but Ruben Amorim’s and the United management’s treatment of the England international, who had barely turned 20, was a hole in the hat, according to Scholes. Mainoo, who showed he has everything to do in the Premier League stadium under Ten Hag, remained on the bench until Amorim was sacked. After this, there has been no doubt, even Scholes must be satisfied with how the club exploits and develops the 20-year-old’s potential. For us, it’s extra cool that Mainoo got his first taste of senior team play with Solskjaer on duty.
Kobbie Mainoo made his debut for Manchester United under Erik ten Hag, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saw his potential. Mainoo is a player Michael Carrick already knew from Carrington, because Solskjaer saw his potential early on and gave him his first taste of senior team play.
Mainoo first made his debut for the U18 team in 2020 and the U21 team in 2021, one month before Solskjaer was sacked. Nevertheless, there was still time for Solskjaer to watch Mainoo in a first-team environment.
In an interview with TNT, Mainoo revealed he was called in by Solskjaer.
“It was a friendly behind closed doors at Old Trafford, and I had just played a couple of days before. My U18 coach came to me and said, ‘The senior team needs a player. Is your body okay?’ I just said, ‘Yes!’ Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the coach at the time. I just went in and got 20 minutes, and it was just crazy. That was my very first experience. I don’t know if I had even trained with the first team at that time. It was just crazy to see Cavani and players like him,” Mainoo reminisces.
