Man Utd Have Their Own Bellingham – Maguire

Manchester United defender, Harry Maguire is tipping 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo to become England’s next Jude Bellingham.

Since making his Premier League debut for Manchester United in November, Mainoo has performed admirably, particularly in the FA Cup triumph against Liverpool that attracted the notice of Gareth Southgate. At Old Trafford, Maguire has been tutoring Mainoo and has drawn comparisons between him and Bellingham, a formidable player at Real Madrid.

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When asked if Mainoo is ready for the rigours of international football, Maguire said: “I don’t see why not. To play at a major tournament, obviously, it’s big to have experience but also the young boys do come in and sometimes they play with no fear and they can excel in that way. I don’t have any concerns whatsoever. It’s incredible he’s (only) 18, he’s so mature. He’s a bit like Jude was when he was a young boy. He’s got a mature head on his shoulders. I had no concerns. I see day in, day out his ability in training. He just wants to work hard and do well. I congratulated him, said he deserved it, keep it up, and make sure he enjoys himself.

‌”He’s got everything, he can handle the ball brilliantly. He’s really strong, powerful, and you can see the progression to play that role, especially for Manchester United. Listen, we have a lot of good centre-mids in this country at the moment, a lot of players who have been there and done it, and shown that they can do it in the big, major tournaments. He’ll keep working hard, I’m sure he will, because he’s a great lad. It’s exciting times for him and his family. We will see where it goes.”

Maguire’s endorsement of Mainoo echoes similar breakthroughs in the past, such as Marcus Rashford’s rise to prominence ahead of the Euros in 2016. And the defender along with Rashford is keeping no stone unturned to make Mainoo feel at home in the United & England dressing rooms.

“I told him if he needs anything just to ask me, give me a text, about anything, schedule, he thoroughly deserves it. He has been excellent for us this season,” he said.

“A role and responsibility for the senior players at Manchester United is to bring through academy players. The club is always built on giving opportunities to young boys, we have numerous of them training with us a lot, we try and make them feel welcome. And that’s a big role and responsibility of the senior players, and we have done that to Kobbie. It’s important he feels welcome, he feels comfortable, even coming into this group with England it is really important he feels welcome.”

Maguire thinks that United’s victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup may be a turning point that gives them momentum for the rest of the season.

He added: “It’s obviously been a difficult season for us. The points tally in the Premier League is not too bad, but it should be a lot better. The five teams above us have accumulated more, a lot to be honest at this stage of the season. Obviously, we’ve had a lot of injuries, but so have other clubs, to get knocked out of the Carabao Cup was disappointing and the Champions League campaign was also disappointing.

“We played well in the Champions League Group games, but two red cards have probably cost us from going through there. So to have a good run in the FA Cup is important and it’s a huge result for us, to keep that faith that we’ve still got a chance to go and win something this season. The atmosphere was incredible on Sunday and it was really important to give the fans something they deserved, to go home and cheer about. And smile about.”

Maguire is getting ready to play the Three Lions against Brazil and Belgium at Wembley on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively. After completing his international duties, he will return to Manchester to play in a Premier League match against Brentford on March 30.