Ryan Giggs sends transfer advice to Kobbie Mainoo as Man Utd star pushes for move | Football

Ryan Giggs has urged Kobbie Mainoo to disregard advice from Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt and stay and fight for his place at Manchester United.

Mainoo has not began a Premier League game all season with Lisandro Martinez the one member of the regular first-team squad to play less minutes than him this term.

United blocked his attempts to go away the club on loan in the ultimate days of the summer transfer window with the England international still firmly behind Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro in Ruben Amorim’s midfield pecking order.

Mainoo is desperate for first-team football to make sure he’s in contention to make Thomas Tuchel’s England squad heading to the World Cup next summer with Napoli his preferred destination.

United legends Scholes and Butt have firmly sided with Mainoo within the growing row over his role within the United team – which took one other twist this week when his half-brother Jordan Mainoo-Hames wore a t-shirt with the message ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ during Monday’s 4-4 draw with Bournemouth.

After blasting Amorim’s handling of the choice and accusing him of ‘wasting 18 months of Mainoo’s development,’ Scholes also urged the United star to hitch rivals Chelsea should the prospect arise in January.

In a crowded field of club legends, Giggs is probably the United academy’s biggest success story, emerging with the famed ‘Class of 92’ to make a club record 963 appearances between 1991 and 2014 in becoming English football’s most decorated player.

While understanding of Mainoo’s frustrations, the previous Wales international insists Mainoo remains to be ‘learning the sport’ and must wait for his likelihood to reclaim a key role within the team.

‘I can see where the lads [Scholes and Butt] are coming from,’ Giggs told Metro via betting comparison site BetSelect.

‘As a footballer, you desire to play. But I might have more patience because he is simply 20, and it’s difficult to play centre midfield for Man United. It’s like a striker. You don’t see many actually young strikers playing for Man United since it is difficult.

‘All of us feel that he must be getting more minutes, but he must be patient. He’s still young, he’s still learning the sport. And when he does get his likelihood, he must take it. So I’d prefer to see him stay.’

Amorim has persistently defended his position on Amorim’s lack of game time, insisting he has no doubts over the player’s talent. His efforts to clarify his treatment of the 20-year-old saw two other United kids in Harry Amass and Chido Obi clumsily criticised in the method earlier this week.

The saga also raised questions over United’s proud history of including a minimum of one academy graduate within the first-team squad since 1937.

Giggs nonetheless is calm over the situation. The previous winger points to Ayden Heaven’s recent run within the team – despite the defender not being academy graduate having joined from Arsenal in January – as a sign to how Amorim views youth, with 18-year-old Shea Lacey expected to have a task to play in the approaching weeks within the absence of Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo.

Asked if Mainoo’s situation can have other kids fearing over their very own pathway to the first-team, Giggs said: No, I don’t think so.

‘Heaven has played in some really tough games recently at centre half, which isn’t easy. So you might be seeing the manager picking a 19-year-old. Recently, Shea Lacey was on the bench, who is simply 18. So the manager has played young players. 

‘But it surely is dependent upon what the manager sees every single day. Because I used to be given a likelihood after I was younger. I all the time give young players a likelihood because they’ll never allow you to down and can do exactly what you say. 

‘United have gotten an enormous history of academy players coming through, but they’ve got to be ok. They’ve got to be ok. You may’t just have a philosophy of playing young players who aren’t ok. That may’t occur.

‘In order that filters down below the primary team. That’s the recruitment, the players who’re playing within the youth team, playing within the reserves or the 21s, whether or not they be local lads or players from around the globe.’

MORE: Enzo Maresca makes statement over Chelsea exit claim and responds to Man City link

MORE: Chelsea make opening transfer offer for Arsenal-linked forward

MORE: Manchester United given likelihood to sign Ruben Neves in cut-price January transfer