Bruno Fernandes sends message to Manchester United wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo after England debut
Bruno Fernandes lead the praise for Manchester United wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo after his impressive England debut.
Just days after his late call-up to the senior squad, 18-year-old Mainoo made his Three Lions bow in the 1-0 friendly loss to Brazil on Saturday night.
The midfielder came on in the 75th minute, replacing Conor Gallagher, and though England would go onto concede the decisive goal just minutes later, he made a great impression.
He showed great composure, completing all 20 of his passes, and slotted into Gareth Southgate’s midfield nicely, with many fans and pundits hopeful he’ll go to Euro 2024.
After the game, Mainoo posted on Instagram: ‘Special feeling making my senior England debut at Wembley and in front of my family.
‘A moment I will never forget. Now we bounce back and refocus for Tuesday.’
Mainoo’s call-up comes after a brilliant few months for United, with club captain Fernandes among those to hail the teenager, with the Portugal star replying to Mainoo’s post with: ‘First of many.’
United and England defenders Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire added: ‘What a player’ and ‘deserved mate.’
Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice are nailed on starters for England, and there is hope that Mainoo could be the missing piece in Southgate’s midfield.
The Arsenal star also replied to the post with: ‘Many more to come! Congrats bro.’
As for the Three Lions boss himself, Southgate said of Mainoo’s cameo: ‘Kobbie was a chance to dip his toes.
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‘We needed to refresh some of the team because we’ve got to manage their minutes a little bit, so that’s a strange situation when it’s a game of that size but that’s where we are.
‘To get Kobbie on the pitch was a brilliant moment for him and his family. You saw a couple of turns and a couple of really composed moments that is a bit of an indication of what he might become.’
Mainoo will be hoping to win his second cap on Tuesday night, when England take on Belgium in what is the final game before Southgate selects his 23-man squad for the Euros.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Report: Dan Ashworth’s Manchester United move in jeopardy as talks with Newcastle United stall
Dan Ashworth’s proposed move to Manchester United has hit a roadblock as Newcastle United stand firm on their asking price to release him from his contract.
Newcastle and Manchester United have been locked in talks over a compensation package that would see Dan Ashworth released from his contract early so he could start work at Man United sooner rather than later.
Ashworth is currently on gardening leave while the two clubs thrash out a deal, although HITC now claims that those talks are on shaky ground.
Newcastle are apparently refusing to back down from their £20million asking price and Man United are unwilling to meet their demands.
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Darren Eales is playing hardball with Man United
We love it when things don’t go Manchester United’s way
We’re not laughing, you’re laughing. Okay, we’re laughing. But only a bit. Okay, a lot.
Newcastle’s search for Ashworth’s replacement continues while his future, apart from the fact that he will no longer be working for Newcastle, is now unclear. He may have to end up seeing out the remainder of his contract on gardening leave.
While that will cost Newcastle money as the club would have to keep paying his salary for that period, the sheer joy we’ll get from knowing that it’s stifling Manchester United’s vision has to make it worthwhile.
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What will Dan Ashworth’s Newcastle United legacy be?
Obviously, we expect that the deadlock will be broken at some point as Newcastle won’t want to be paying Ashworth for not doing anything for another 18 months, but we do take some perverse pleasure in seeing Manchester United not getting what they want.
As many people have liked to point out over the last 24 hours, Ashworth’s legacy at Newcastle now may well be failing to do his due diligence on Sandro Tonali and therefore not spotting his gambling problem before making a £55million bid.
Whatever his legacy is, it is unlikely to be a positive on
e after turning his back on the club so soon after joining.
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