‘I don’t see it’ – Kobbie Mainoo obsession confuses Carragher after Man Utd’s star’s England bow

Jamie Carragher is confused by the obsession with pigeonholing Man Utd star Kobbie Mainoo.

Jamie Carragher is confused by the apparent obsession with pigeonholing Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo as a holding midfielder.

Mainoo’s excellent form for United this term led to an England call-up for the latest round of friendly fixtures, with the 18-year-old impressing alongside Declan Rice in the 2-2 draw with Belgium on Tuesday.

Not a holding midfielder

He’s played predominantly in a deep role under Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford, but more out of necessity than desire, and Carragher told The Overlap that he doesn’t see the teenager sitting at the base of midfield given his ability to drive forward with the ball at his feet.

“People are talking about him and there’s this thing building that he’s a holding midfielder. I don’t really see it. He’s this guy who dribbles and runs forward,” Carragher said.

“There’s this talk about United needing a holding midfield player, but I don’t think he’s that. I thought that performance was sensational.

“Sometimes you look at a young player and it feels like it happens every tournament, it feels like this time of the season someone really young out of nowhere – whether it was Rooney, Michael Owen, Bellingham a couple of years ago – they just go.

“We know for a fact this kid is on the plane now on the back of last night and you are looking at the starting 11 and, I know you don’t want to get carried away, but he’s definitely going and it’s just whether he plays now.”

Southgate impressed with Mainoo displays

England boss Gareth Southgate was hugely impressed by what he saw from Mainoo, both in his cameo against Brazil and from the start againt Belgium.

“Everything that we’ve seen with his club, he reproduced in an England shirt which isn’t always the case,” Southgate said on Tuesday after the 2-2 draw with Belgium at Wembley.

“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.”–

Southgate also hailed Mainoo’s ability to take tactical instruction on board, claiming the midfielder is in “a beautiful, innocent moment” in his career.

“He seems very calm. You can see he is taking everything in,” Southgate has added.

“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.”