Not for the first time this season, a United victory was enriched by the contributions of Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho at Wigan.
Garnacho was serenaded by the 7,334 United followers in the Boston Stand and it is a matter of time until a Mainoo chant enters the teeming songbook.
Whatever changes Sir Dave Brailsford and his underlings oversee, they cannot match Erik ten Hag’s track record with youth. At Ajax, he hothoused Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt. He has already bestowed United the academy legacies of Garnacho and Mainoo.
Garnacho, not 20 until July, has started 15 successive matches. Cristiano Ronaldo nor Wayne Rooney managed such a streak when teenagers at United. Mainoo has lined up in the last five and his importance can be gauged when he is off the pitch almost as much as when he is on it.
The half-time substitution of Mainoo at Nottingham Forest had dire consequences. His ankle injury in pre-season against Real Madrid was another sliding-doors moment.
That is not an overstatement. Mainoo approached this season with only 10 minutes of Premier League playing time to his name but his selection in humid Houston effectively confirmed Ten Hag was preparing him to start the season in the team, not the squad. He has shown teeth in the bear pits of Goodison Park and Anfield.
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Denne historien er fra January 10, 2024-utgaven av Manchester Evening News.
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