Premier League legend who considers Mainoo better than Rodri and Casemiro

Manchester United's young midfielder has shown excellent performances.

26/02/2024, 04:46 PM +00:00

In a really bad and forgettable season for Manchester United, with disappointing results, many injuries and conflicts with several players, there are some positive things to highlight. Rasmus Hojlund's adaptation to the Premier League took a few months, but he finally started to show the performances that justify the fortune the club paid for him.

And two young players definitely earned a place in the starting lineup. One of them is Alejandro Garnacho, who had already shown sparks of his talent the year before, but is now a key player in the team's attack, even surpassing more experienced stars like Marcus Rashford and Antony.

The other one is Kobbie Mainoo. The 18-year-old midfielder had made his debut in the 2023 Carabao Cup against Newcastle and a month later played his first Premier League game against Leicester City, but then an injury prevented him from playing for the first few months of the 2023/24 season. Now recovered, from November onwards he got another chance and since then he has never been out of the team.

His performances have been so good that he has even been mentioned as a possible call-up by Gareth Southgate for the England squad for Euro 2024, although for that he will have to compete with stars such as Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips and Jude Bellingham. However, the hype about Mainoo is not just a trend among the press and fans, but some football legends also believe he is special. And among them is Frank Lampard.

What did he have to say?

The former Chelsea and Manchester City midfielder, who was a star of the English national team for more than a decade, was asked about Kobbie Mainoo and surprised everyone by comparing him to some of the best holding midfielders in the world: "I don't think even Rodri or Casemiro were as good as he is at his age. He is the backbone of a club like Manchester United as young as he is. I think he'll outlive very many big names".