Man Utd boss Ten Hag shoots down Kobbie Mainoo comparisons to legendary Dutch midfielder

Erik ten Hag has played down comparisons between highly-rated Manchester United midfield starlet Kobbie Mainoo and a Dutch footballing legend.

The 18-year-old talent has established himself as a key player in Ten Hag’s engine room since breaking into the United side back in November and has started the last 12 games.

Mainoo has produced some outstanding moments during that extended run in the team, most notably scoring the last-gasp winner in the 4-3 victory over Wolves in early February.

After that game, United great Rio Ferdinand compared him to former Ajax, AC Milan and Real Madrid star Clarence Seedorf, who is still widely regarded as one of the best midfield players of his generation.

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However, Ten Hag is reluctant to draw comparisons between players and insists that Mainoo must make hs own name in the game and build on the small sample size he has already shown.

The Red Devils boss said: “So I think never ever compare players with another player. Never. Because Kobbie Mainoo, but also other players, they build their own identity.

“Don’t compare with anyone. His skillset, that is so typical. And it’s so Kobbie Mainoo, it’s nothing to do with other players.

“Of course, he can learn from other players, especially from great players as Clarence Seedorf was. But Kobbie Mainoo is Kobbie Mainoo. He has big potential and I’m quite sure he will have a big career.”

Mainoo has made 22 appearances for the club so far and his stunning form led to calls for a spot in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad for the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

Mainoo not quite ready for senior England squad

However, the Three Lions boss opted against selecting Mainoo this time around despite Euro 2024 being just around the corner.

Southgate deemed the United star to be too inexperienced to make his squad on this occasion, adding: “There are some players with the Under-21s, especially in midfield, who are doing exceptionally well. The likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Harvey Elliott, Rico [Lewis] was with us last time, Archie Gray at Leeds is doing very, very well.”

On Mainoo specifically, he added: “I think that he’s doing brilliantly for a young player, and we’re never slow to put a young payer into the seniors, but he’s only had a handful of games and you have to be very careful development-wise in making those decisions at the right time.

“We think ideally we should allow him that space to develop at his own speed. He’s not at the point in terms of number of games that Jude [Bellingham] or Bukayo [Saka] were when they came in for the first time.

“But I repeat he’s doing really well for a young player, he’s a good footballer, you can see that and he’s getting some fabulous experience at Manchester United at the moment and looks a really good character.”

United are back in action this Sunday when they host bitter rivals Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals at Old Trafford.

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