Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has been urged to be cautious with Kobbie Mainoo following his fine full Premier League debut. Former England international Stephen Warnock says the young midfielder could suffer the same problems as Liverpool’s Stefan Bajcetic if he’s not looked after properly.
Mainoo put in a superb display on his first start in the English top flight. It was the 18-year-old’s first appearance for the first team this term after recovering from an ankle injury suffered in pre-season.
He immediately looked at home in the midfield, with Ten Hag preferring him to deadline-day signing Sofyan Amrabat. But Warnock says United cannot get carried away and play Mainoo too much, too soon.
He has likened the possible scenario to that of Bajcetic at Liverpool. Bajcetic burst into the Liverpool side last season and had a run of games under Jurgen Klopp.
However, he suffered an adductor injury in March which kept him out of action until August. The young Spaniard, who turned 19 last month, has since suffered a calf injury which has ruled him out since the end of September.
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Warnock says United must take precautions to ensure Mainoo doesn’t follow a similar path. He said on Sky Sports News: “One thing you have to be careful with youngsters is are they fully matured into their body?
“You worry about injuries. I look at Bacjetic at Liverpool, you have a prolonged run in the team and it just becomes that little bit too much for you.
“[You need] to drip feed them into the team slowly because you have to let them mature naturally. You can’t just suddenly go ‘Well if he’s good enough, he’s old enough’ – it’s not the case now because of the speed of the game as well.”
Warnock also says United can’t give Mainoo too much of the spotlight too soon. He reckons Ten Hag can learn from his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola with how he handled Phil Foden earlier in his career.
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Warnock added: “I think one of the case in points is look over the park to Manchester City and Phil Foden and how Pep Guardiola handled him. We kept on saying all the time ‘Surely he has to play, you’ve got to give him opportunities’.
“But you’ve got to be able to keep their feet on the floor as well, you’ve got to be able to take that level of expectation off them. Everyone’s going to highlight him this week aren’t they, everyone’s going to be talking about him, everyone’s going to be excited to see how he fairs next week.
“Hopefully we just give him the opportunity to breathe and enjoy himself and realise what a great performance it was, but that’s not the end of it. It has to keep on going.
“The way that grows is his team-mates around him as well, helping him, having the right environment, having the right professionalism in and around them and watching those players day in, day out.”
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