Kobbie Mainoo has just been called up to England’s first-team squad for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
Kobbie Mainoo has been promoted from the under-21s England side to the first team for this international break.
Gareth Southgate evidently saw Mainoo’s Liverpool masterclass on Sunday and simply couldn’t resist promoting the Manchester United academy graduate to the Three Lions first-team squad.
It’s a huge moment for Mainoo. At just 18 years old, he could potentially be donning the famous white jersey for his country. Huge – and well deserved. However, it has left Manchester United fans deeply divided.
Some Manchester United fans happy for Kobbie Mainoo’s England call-up
Some Manchester United fans reacted ecstatically to the news, praising Southgate and showing immense pride in United’s generational talent. Tweets from fans read:
‘Nothing more than Kobbie deserves. Pleased for him. Mainoo & Bellingham in an England midfield together would be absolutely world-class.’
‘Very well deserved. Not many midfielders have dominated Liverpool this season the way he did in the first half, especially at Old Trafford on Sunday.’
‘100% deserved! So happy for him and his family. Such an incredible talent. Play him alongside Declan Rice And let him dominate. Well done, Kobbie!’
‘So happy for him. Even if he doesn’t get any minutes for this call-up, he will learn so much from the senior players in the national team.’
Other Red Devils fans react badly to Kobbie Mainoo’s news
Other Manchester United fans don’t exactly agree this is delightful news for Mainoo or the Red Devils. Tweets read:
‘This is nothing to be happy about. Mainoo travelling to pointless international games in a season where he is already playing more games than what he should be playing.’
‘Don’t like this at all. too many minutes put on the kid, this is the same trajectory as Pedri.’
‘Terrible decision let him develop don’t burn him out too early this country never learns. From Wayne Rooney, Jack Wilshere, Michael Owen, even Marcus Rashford is f**** from playing too much too young.’
‘Idk how to feel about this. love it but I don’t want him to turn into Pedri, Gavi, and other run-down talents.’
‘So pleased for Kobbie. He must be thrilled about this. He’s going to be an excellent player, but is it a little early?’
That’s the burning question.
United in Focus: Our verdict on Mainoo call-up
It’s a difficult one. Whilst we’re immensely proud of Kobbie, and he definitely has the talent to hold his own on the international stage – we’ve seen this story before.
At just 18, Mainoo hasn’t even fully found his feet at Old Trafford yet. There is such a thing as too much, too quickly and we hope this isn’t the case.
From a selfish standpoint, Mainoo also heading off to friendly games runs a risk of yet another injury, which would be detrimental for Manchester United.
Congrats to Mainoo and props to Southgate for calling him up – however, we’re just praying it doesn’t backfire.