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.
Esta historia es de la edición March 20, 2024 de Evening Standard.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición March 20, 2024 de Evening Standard.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Kylie Minogue loves the bar at Louie, startling Beefeaters and snooping in The Conran Shop
Currently it’s largely suitcase-based as I’ve been doing so much travel for work, but Melbourne, Australia, is home.
Are Spurs willing to invest what it takes to win trophies?
Criticism of the manager for the club's struggles misses the point-whatever he says, he's not been given a squad ready to push for the biggest honours
Crowning glory awaits Britain's golden girl
Odds-on favourite to win BBC Sports Personality, Keely Hodgkinson never doubted she was ready to conquer the world
Residents at war over £10 billion 'Shanghai-style' Earl's Court plan
Controversial proposals are causing a huge furore in west London
The secrets of selling the capital's £40m homes
Armed security, NDAs, a gold temple...inside the world of ultra high-end property deals
Jenny Packham on Amsterdam why is truly magical at Christmas time
The designer gets lost in the cobbled streets and is entranced by the city’s twinkling lights and unique spirit
Alfies Antique Market
Here is a place to blindly lose oneself in a labyrinth of staircases and thresholds.
Decline and fall: what comes after peak wellness?
The social elite are obsessed with devices that track their health but the backlash is building
The newest AI can arrange your holiday- but will it be a strictly woke one?
A lightning-quick artificial megabrain with an appetite for social justice? WILLIAM HOSIE has a chat with Claude Al
'Fame just isn't healthy
Mercury Prize-winning band English Teacher on the pressure of success, trying not to burn out and the challenges black women face in indie music
