Clever contract wrinkle leaves Man Utd sensation in no hurry to extend deal and Ratcliffe able to chill

Manchester United wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo is reportedly ‘in no hurry’ to agree new contract terms with the club despite his meteoric first-team rise this season.

The 18-year-old has made a huge impression since bursting onto the scene during the current campaign, making himself almost a permanent fixture in Erik ten Hag’s side in the process.

Indeed, Mainoo, who came through United’s academy, has been already compared to legendary Old Trafford midfielder Paul Scholes.

The talented midfielder netted a dramatic 97th-minute winner for United last month in a 4-3 victory at Wolves in the Premier League.

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But despite his rapid rise and clear top-class potential, The Athletic reports that both Mainoo and United are not rushing over a new contract.

That’s because his current deal has in-built pay rises depending on performances, suggesting that his salary has already gone up from the start of the season.

Mainoo’s current deal runs until 2027 and the Red Devils do have the option to extend it by a further 12 months.

And speaking ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby at the Etihad, United youth coach Tom Huddlestone has likened Mainoo to Manchester City legend Yaya Toure.

“On my first day at Carrington, I came up and had a look at the lads in training,” Huddlestone told Sport Bible.

“I was speaking to a friend on the way back home and said [to them], ‘There are two lads who stood out during that session and one of them is a player called Kobbie Mainoo’ – he looks like a younger version of Yaya Toure.”

Neville blown away by Mainoo qualities

United legend Gary Neville also revealed back in November that Pep Guardiola would want Mainoo in his City side after watching the youngster dominate Everton in a 3-0 Red Devils win.

Speaking at the time, he told Sky Sports: “It was impressive and there’s no point getting carried away by it because the reality is he’s got 17 or 18 years in front of him and he’s got a lot of work to do.

“But sometimes when you see a player come in for the first time and the way in which the temperament, he’s obviously got technical ability and skill, you don’t play for Manchester United in the first place if you haven’t got that, you don’t get picked by Erik ten Hag if you haven’t got that, but what you don’t know is how they’re going to handle it.

“He’s gone in here at Goodison Park, in what could have been the most ferocious atmospheres for many a year in a hostile environment, and he looked class. We know he’s class, we know he’s got class, he’s got that ability, but he looked class in that environment.

“The biggest compliment I can pay him, and it hurts to say this, I hope people can take this in the right spirit… he looked like a Manchester City player.

“Honestly, I was watching him and thinking, ‘that’s a player that Pep Guardiola will be looking at and thinking, I want him in my midfield, that’s what my midfield players do’.

“Thankfully Man United have got him because he looks so composed, so graceful, always looking over his shoulder, knowing where everyone is, letting it run across his body.

“At 18 to be doing that out there, he’ll have tougher games, he’s got a long challenge in front of him, there’ll be injuries, ups and downs, there will be other players coming in, he’s playing at a club with huge demands. But that was very, very good.”

The great news for United is that Mainoo has continued that level when given the chance to do so by Ten Hag, leaving the club with an absolute gem who should be the mainstay of the Red Devils midfield for the next decade.

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