Gareth Southgate says Kobbie Mainoo is performing very well for Manchester United, but hasn't played enough games at senior level to earn a England call-up yet.
The 18-year-old has been a regular in Erik ten Hag’s starting XI since making his first Premier League appearance this season in November.
The teenager has displayed qualities beyond his age in the Red Devils midfield, showing impressive composure and leadership.
However, he has only appeared in 15 Premier League matches and a total of 22 first team appearances, which Southgate believes is insufficient senior England team.
The England boss announced his squad for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium on Thursday and praised Mainoo as well as other outstanding young players, but as stars of the Under-21 squad. ‘There are some players with the Under-21s, especially in midfield, who are doing exceptionally well,’ said Southgate. ‘The likes of
Kobbie Mainoo , Harvey Elliott, Rico [Lewis] was with us last time, Archie Gray at Leeds is doing very, very well.’On Mainoo missing out on the senior squad, the manager said: ‘I think that he’s doing brilliantly for a young player, and we’re never slow to put a young payer into the seniors, but he’s only had a handful of games and you have to be very careful development-wise in making those decisions at the right time.
Gareth Southgate has been impressed with what he has seen from Mainoo (Picture: Getty Images)
‘But I repeat he’s doing really well for a young player, he’s a good footballer, you can see that and he’s getting some fabulous experience at Manchester United at the moment and looks a really good character.’
Also missing out in midfield is Kalvin Phillips, who is enduring something of a nightmare loan spell at West Ham, where he was looking to prove his form and fitness after struggling for minutes at Manchester City.
‘I think he knows exactly what we think of him,’ said Southgate. ‘A good version of him is an important player for us. We don’t have many players of that profile.
Kalvin Phillips has a lot of work to do to make it to Euro 2024 (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I said to him towards the end of last year, if he didn’t play at City, it was going to be a problem.’
Mainoo misses out on the senior England squad.
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