Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says he has spoken to Kobbie Mainoo about not getting ‘carried away’ by his newfound fame and speculation he will be picked in England’s Euro 2024 squad.
Mainoo’s meteoric rise continued during the international break as the 18-year-old made his England debut against Brazil and then starred in the following friendly against Belgium.
The teenager only made his first Premier League start in November but now looks set to be named in England’s squad for this summer’s Euros in Germany.
Mainoo’s newfound fame could have some negative consequences but Ten Hag is pleased he has ‘handled the situation very well’ so far and says he will ‘intervene’ is he gets ‘carried away’.
‘We’ve already discussed this,’ Ten Hag said. ‘So far he’s handled the situation very well. If he gets carried away, of course, me as a manager and we as coaches, we will intervene.
‘But so far it is not necessary because he wants to play football, he wants to win, he wants to give his best every day.
‘He wants to improve and just have fun on the pitch. Fun for him is to play dominant, to dictate the game and win the game.’
Assessing Mainoo’s performances for England during the international break, Ten Hag added: ‘I thought it was very good but we are not surprised.
‘We know what he is capable of, he can very quickly adapt to high levels. It looks very natural and we are very happy for him.
‘Of course, we are also very [proud], it’s great for the academy of Manchester United to bring up a player so young going into the national team, it’s a big compliment for the whole club.
‘For himself because he did it but also all the ones who worked with him during his time in the academy, it’s very good news for Manchester United.’
England boss Gareth Southgate heaped praise on Mainoo after his impressive performance in the 2-2 draw with Belgium and described his emergence as a ‘beautiful moment’.
‘Everything that we’ve seen with his club, he reproduced in an England shirt, which isn’t always the case,’ the Three Lions manager said.
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‘He was very calm, receives the ball so well under pressure, strong, so we are a little bit more open playing that way but the benefits with the ball were clear to see.”
‘He seems very calm. You can see he is taking everything in. Talking to him tactically, he seems able to take all those concepts on.
‘A lot of young players now, with their academy education, are able to do that. You can see his comfort with the ball and receiving in tight areas.
‘There are a lot of steps being taken in a very short period of time, but you saw in the brief cameo the other day [against Brazil] some of the qualities he has. Sometimes, with the really young ones, they are not even thinking about that.
‘It is all flowing and maybe then as you get a bit older you start to think about it a bit more. It is a beautiful, innocent moment when he is just in the flow and lapping up the opportunities as they come.'
After a two-week break, Manchester United will play against Brentford this Saturday. Ten Hag’s team is currently in sixth place in the Premier League, trailing nine points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa and 17 points behind leaders Arsenal.
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