EXCLUSIVE
Mark Goldbridge has urged pundits and fans to calm down about Manchester United teen ace Kobbie Mainoo.
The 18-year-old is being tipped for stardom after a stunning breakthrough to the Red Devils’ first team and senior England squad.
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The young midfielder made an impressive cameo off the bench in England’s 1-0 defeat to Brazil last week, earning a first Three Lions start in their next game, a 2-2 draw with Belgium.
He even played a key role in England’s first goal in that match, while he has contributed two goals in 20 appearances for Man United this season.
It’s been a rapid rise for the teenager, who only made his first United start in November, with many now tipping him for a place in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad and to follow in Jude Bellingham’s footsteps to become one of the world’s great young players.
But United fan and YouTube host Goldbridge insists all that talk of Mainoo’s superstar future is far too premature, admitting there are plenty of former Red Devils wonderkids who failed to fulfil their potential.
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Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, Goldbridge said about the young midfielder: “Considering he only started playing first-team football for United in the Autumn, it’s been one hell of a ride and it’s been all good, really.
“But United fans will tell you that not every game he’s played he’s been good. I remember the Aston Villa away game and he really struggled against Douglas Luiz and Jacob Ramsey, but that’s part of the process and United fans are well versed in this, you’ll have games where it’s not so good - Alejandro Garnacho’s had it, that’s just part of the nurturing process.
“I think at United the potential for him and the ceiling for him is unknown, there are many pitfalls.
“I remember a few years ago we had Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, and you look at where they’ve ended up, I don’t think any of those players hit where he thought they would, for various reasons.
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“Football is like that, you just don’t know how it’s going to go - off the field issues, injuries, loss of form.
“It’s ridiculous that people are saying Kobbie Mainoo is going to be the ‘next big thing’ because we just don’t know. He needs the right people around him, he needs to stay injury-free and keep developing.”
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Goldbridge does admit, though, that Mainoo does have something special about him.
And he even compared his swashbuckling and no-fear style of play to some of football’s great mavericks - Zinedine Zidane, Paul Gascoigne and Paul Pogba .
“What he does have is something really unique, which we saw even in his England cameos, and that’s the ability to not only pass and tackle but also the ability to take people on," added Goldbridge.
“In the modern game that’s a rarity. Everyone’s play is so structured, it’s all about passing between the lines, but what we saw with the first England goal, when Mainoo picks the ball up and skips past a couple of players and suddenly the space is there for Bellingham to play it in.
“That’s the exciting thing about Mainoo - his profile as a midfielder who can actually carry the ball, it makes him stand out.
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“I think that’s why there’s a lot of excitement around him, because there aren’t that many players in world football who do that.
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“If he can develop in that way you’ve almost got a bit of a Zidane or Gascoigne type player, a Pogba type player.
“I’m not saying he’s going to hit those levels, but someone who can actually take people on from midfield, and that’s a game-changer.”