Mainoo's rapid rise makes him late Euros contender

UNITED ACADEMY GRADUATE HAS REAL CHANCE TO BREAK INTO SQUAD FOR FINALS IN GERMANY

- Malik Ouzia

SHOULD the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe genuinely prompt the overhaul of Manchester United’s recruitment strategy it so clearly needs, then one of the final acts of the previous regime may, oddly, come to be viewed among its best.

Had United been shrewder and more front-footed in their search for a central midfielder last summer, had they managed to lure a Declan Rice or a Wataru Endo, then they are unlikely to have ended up leaning so heavily on an 18-year-old — and Gareth Southgate might not be weighing up a Euro 2024 wildcard.

Instead, a desperate loan plunge on the dawdling Sofyan Amrabat and the plummet in form of Casemiro, signed on a four-year deal when already 31, opened the door to Kobbie Mainoo. With those quick feet and a delicate shuffle, he has slid straight through.

There had been a pre-season buzz around Mainoo, after a smattering of first-team outings last year, but an ankle injury in pre-season derailed his chances of an immediate impact.