Bruno Fernandes is delighted Manchester United have tied Kobbie Mainoo all the way down to a long-term contract, saying the club couldn’t afford to lose a player just like the England international.
Mainoo only turned 21 last month but has already had a rollercoaster profession at Manchester United under three managers.
Erik ten Hag thrust a teenage Mainoo into the primary team, where he shone brightly enough to earn an England call-up very early in his senior profession.
Ruben Amorim took charge of the Red Devils after Ten Hag’s dismissal and Mainoo fell down the pecking order, so out of favour that an exit looked likely.
The midfielder was linked with a loan move to Napoli and he could have departed if Amorim had not been dismissed in January.
Interim manager Michael Carrick has restored faith in Mainoo, with the academy product a daily within the starting XI again and back within the Three Lions squad ahead of this summer’s World Cup.
Mainoo has now signed a brand new contract with the club, extending his stay at Old Trafford until 2031 and Fernandes is very happy things have turned round for him.
The Red Devils captain feels it will have been an enormous mistake for the club to lose a player of his quality.
‘When he got here to the primary team he needed to play immediately and never everyone was expecting that,’ Fernandes told Sky Sports. ‘Then he had a period when he was playing somewhat bit left and he was somewhat bit within the shadow and everybody forgot somewhat bit about him.
‘But not us. We knew what we had in the home. We knew that Kobbie had things to enhance and may very well be higher. He was good within the time he was not playing to attempt to develop into higher, try to enhance.
‘He was all the time very skilled through the period when he was not playing. We now have nothing to say about that.
‘Now because he was doing the appropriate things when he was not playing he’s getting his credit and he’s getting his flowers again.
‘He well deserves his recent contract. The club couldn’t afford to lose a player like him.’
On the announcement that he had signed his recent contract together with his boyhood club, Mainoo said: ‘Manchester United has all the time been my home; this special club means the whole lot to my family.
‘I even have grown up seeing the impact that our club has on our city, and I relish the responsibility that comes with wearing this shirt.
‘From The Cliff, to Littleton Road, to Carrington and ultimately Old Trafford, the journey to date has been incredible. I even have the privilege of living my dream each day, with the identical relentless desire to succeed here as after I joined my first training session on the age of six.
‘We are able to all feel the momentum constructing contained in the club. I’m determined to step up and play my role in helping Manchester United to frequently fight for major trophies within the years ahead.’
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