News about Kobbie Mainoo

Perhaps a serving of nostalgia - three hours of it to be precise - comes at a good time for Manchester United. '99, a new three-part documentary film charting the Treble-winning season of 1998-99, airs globally on Friday on Amazon Prime video. And at a time where watching Manchester United on the pitch has largely brought fans bucketloads of frustration and angst as they head into the final league game against Brighton on Sunday running the risk of missing out on Europe entirely, '99 provides something akin to a warm hug.

CHRIS WHEELER AT OLD TRAFFORD: If this does indeed prove to be Erik ten Hag's farewell to Old Trafford, at least he goes out with a win. Manchester United gave their manager the kind of performance that has so often been lacking in this most wretched of seasons. The kind that will make Ten Hag wonder what might have been. Where has this spirit been for the past 10 months? This backbone? Who knows, Ten Hag may yet get another shot. But if his team had played like this on a more regular basis, the Dutchman wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. Bruno Fernandes has rarely let Ten Hag down and on Wednesday night he played like he had a point to prove in a week when his own future at United has come under scrutiny.

Erik ten Hag admitted that Manchester United have not had an 'easy' season but vowed his players will 'give everything' to win the FA Cup in an address to fans after their 3-2 win at Old Trafford. The Red Devils kept alive their hopes of securing European football next season via the league with victory over Newcastle which moved them level on points with the Magpies in seventh. Regardless of their league position, United will earn the right to participate in games on the continent with a win in the FA Cup final against Manchester City on May 25.

Erik ten Hag's side came into the game without a win in their last three league outings and looked determined to snap a lacklustre run which could have seen them finish the campaign as low as ninth. The Red Devils broke the deadlock in the 31st minute when Kobbie Mainoo calmly slotted into the corner. However, only four minutes after the break, Anthony Gordon replied with his 10th league goal of the season. The Magpies had their chances to grab the lead but the home side were not to be denied and secured victory thanks to goals from Amad Diallo and Rasmus Hojlund.

Fernandes is under contract at Old Trafford until 2026 but is believed to be open to a move, particularly if United do not qualify for Europe. Team-mates fear he could up sticks after four-and-a-half years at the club. Fernandes, 29, is having a decent season, having scored 15 goals and created 11 others, although his leadership has also been criticised by Roy Keane.Bayern think they can tempt him because he is increasingly frustrated at United.

MIKE KEEGAN: Theatre of Dreams? Theatre of Streams was more apt. There have been many dark days since the greedy Glazers stole the keys to Old Trafford with their debt-burdening, how-on-earth-is-this-legal takeover in 2005. But with water cascading down the steps, pouring into the players' tunnel and drenching the victorious Arsenal dressing room, this was the darkest yet.

As two of English football's biggest clubs, it remains one of the hardest tasks for academy players to cut through and make the grade.  The standards are incredibly high and that is why those that coaches are excited about behind the scenes really make you stand up and take notice.  As the two first teams do battle at Old Trafford today in a game of huge significance, particularly for Arsenal amid their title battle with Man City, there will be teenagers watching from the stands that know they will soon be taking part, and in some cases, dominating this fixture in years to come. 

The midfielder, 20, has dazzled since joining Palace from Blackburn for £22.5m in January. There is clamour for him to be in Gareth Southgate's England squad for Euro 2024. Bayern are desperate to sign him after missing out on his signature in January Palace saw off competition from Bayern and Chelsea and the exposure to first-team Premier League football at Selhurst Park has catapulted his career.

RefCam footage from Crystal Palace's victory over Manchester United has been released. Referee Jarred Gillett made history in Monday's clash at Selhurst Park as he took to the pitch wearing a head-mounted camera in a first for the Premier League, with both clubs, the International Football Association Board and the Professional Game Match Officials Limited agreeing to the one-off. The footage taken was not included during the live broadcast of the game as it is set to be included in a programme designed to offer 'further insight and education into the demands of officiating in the Premier League' which will air at a later date.

Manchester United are preparing an opening offer for a player they have earmarked to replace Casemiro, according to reports.  Brazilian star Casemiro joined the Old Trafford outfit in summer 2022 in a shock move from Real Madrid for £60million, and he is thought to earn around £375,000-a-week in wages at the Red Devils. While his first term in Manchester was largely successful, helping the club to a Carabao Cup title along the way, his performances in 2023-24 have been far from his best. 

With the nominees for the Premier League player and young player of the season awards being announced on Thursday, Sofascore have been quick to turnaround who statistically should win both awards.  Manchester City and Arsenal have dominated both shortlists with two players each in the eight-man list of nominations. Stars from Liverpool, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Chelsea have also made the cut and are in the running for individual prizes this season.  

Cole Palmer and Kobbie Mainoo headline a hotly contested group of nominees for the Premier League 's Young Player of the Year award. The contenders for the prestigious gong were announced on Thursday, with the Chelsea and Manchester United youngsters included after their stellar campaigns. Palmer is the second-highest scorer in the division with 21 goals, while Mainoo has forced his way into the England squad after starring for the Red Devils.

CHRIS WHEELER: Casemiro was once a talisman for Ten Hag who was practically indispensable. 'The cement between the stones,' is how the United manager described him last season, and that didn't feel like an understatement. Fast forward 16 months and it looked like Casemiro was running in cement on his return to Selhurst Park, an even more miserable experience that ended with a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Olise and Co that has plunged Ten Hag's future into even greater doubt.

Typically in this month of the year, Casemiro would compete in title deciders and look forward to another Champions League final. Such moments of wonder are now a distant memory for the Brazilian. His glories with Real Madrid must feel as though they belong to a different lifetime. Instead, one of the most gifted defensive midfielders of his generation finds himself lost in a dysfunctional Manchester United team being told by pundits to 'call it a day.'

OLIVER HOLT: I hate to break it to Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford (pictured inset left, right and left) but buying a different kind of pillow for Casemiro (top right) isn't going to fix this. Getting Antony (bottom right) to don a pair of electrically heated shorts isn't going to fix it, either. Manchester United is the sick man of European football and it is going to take an awful lot more than a few marginal gains to put it on the road to resurrection.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has fumed at media reports that the club are set to put the entire squad up for sale - with the exception of three players - and said constant transfer gossip about the team was 'a joke'. The Red Devils have been heavily scrutinised in recent weeks after a series of poor results, most recently a 1-1 draw at home to Burnley, to continue their dismal campaign that has seen them fall 13 points adrift of the final top four spot.  Ten Hag has found himself under immense pressure after one win in their last six league games and there has been plenty of speculation he will be replaced by new chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the summer.

Marcus Rashford (left) will reportedly oppose any attempts by Man United to sell him this summer. Reports earlier this week claimed that United's entire squad is up for sale, bar Kobbie Mainoo, Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho, with Rashford one of those at risk of being moved on. It comes as part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's attempts to overhaul United and restore them to their former glories after another difficult campaign. Rashford has struggled this season and a potential exit is attractive to United, given any cash raised in a sale would count as pure profit due to the forward's status as an academy graduate, thereby helping them to deal with FFP restrictions.

The Red Devils boss (left) has been under increasing pressure this season after a disappointing campaign that has seen them already ruled out of the running for Champions League football. There has been major uncertainty around his job after Sir Jim Ratcliffe took over the running of all football activities at the club on the back of his minority purchase earlier this year, with a final decision still yet to be made.

Bruno Fernandes (above left and right) has hinted he could consider a shock exit from Manchester United just a day after reports suggested the club were open to sell the majority of their squad in a drastic overhaul this summer. Erik ten Hag won the Carabao Cup and led United to third place in his debut season in the Premier League, but has endured a nightmare second campaign at Old Trafford. United are marooned in sixth place on the league table, were dumped out of the Champions League in the group stage and their defence of the League Cup ended prematurely.

Manchester United have received allegations that 'scumbag' fans are posing as disabled supporters to gain access to away matches this season. The club are given dedicated wheelchair spaces for every away fixture but Chas Banks, secretary of the Manchester United Disabled Supporters' Association, told the latest meeting of the Fans' Forum there has been 'widespread misuse' of these tickets by a group of disabled fans. These have either been passed on to non-disabled supporters directly or through a third party in breach of United's ticket rules. 

Scott McTominay has provided an update on his condition after being substituted in Man United's draw with Burnley. United found themselves in a protracted stalemate with Vincent Kompany's struggling side at Old Trafford, with the game goalless at the hour mark. McTominay has made a habit of having a significant impact off the bench this season and was brought on to replace Kobbie Mainoo as the hosts looked to break the deadlock.

CHRIS WHEELER: Booed by the home fans for substituting Kobbie Mainoo and again at full time here, Ten Hag defended himself after another deflating result, then bit back at the former Manchester United stars who have criticised the development of his team. Ten Hag later claimed that United are 'one of the most dynamic and entertaining teams in the league at this moment', which is true but perhaps not in the way that the fans and his employers would like. Watching United is rarely dull these days. At the end of a week in which the Dutchman branded sections of the media a 'disgrace' for their reaction to the potty FA Cup win over Coventry City at Wembley, you had to admire his gumption but also wonder whether he is showing the strain of a season in charge of this maddeningly unpredictable team.

Rasmus Hojlund (inset) cut a bemused figure as Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag decided to bring midfielder Kobbie Mainoo (left) off during Saturday's clash against Burnley. Hojlund - who joined in a £72m summer transfer from Atalanta - has forged a strong relationship with Mainoo and fellow United youngster Alejandro Garnacho during his debut campaign at the club.

Erik ten Hag has called on Manchester United fans and TV pundits who played for the club to be patient after his substitutions were loudly booed during a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Burnley. The United boss was forced to defend himself as Old Trafford showed open dissent when popular teenager Kobbie Mainoo was replaced midway through the second half with Rasmus Hojlund with the game still goalless.