Maguire hails Mainoo as 'a real monster' after starring role in United's 5-2 rout of Ipswich

Kobbie Mainoo announced his return to Manchester United’s starting line-up in emphatic fashion on Sunday, driving a 5-2 Premier League victory over Ipswich with a performance that drew high praise from centre-back Harry Maguire, who called the 21-year-old “a real monster” in midfield.

It was Mainoo’s first start since the end of last season — a period that included a difficult World Cup in which he failed to earn a single minute under England manager Thomas Tuchel, who preferred Reece James and Jordan Henderson in central midfield. Despite that setback, the academy graduate hit the ground running against Ipswich, producing the kind of all-action display that has become his trademark under manager Michael Carrick.

“I thought he was brilliant,” Maguire said after the win. “To say he hasn’t played for I don’t know how long, not really got many minutes in pre-season, he was magnificent. He put a great shift in and I think his work without the ball has improved so much since Michael’s been in. That’s probably credit to Michael and his staff. Without the ball now he’s becoming a real monster in there — he wins a lot of second balls, he wins a lot of duels. You won’t want to play against him.”

Mainoo’s resurgence under Carrick is one of the more striking subplots of United’s season. The midfielder was effectively frozen out under former head coach Ruben Amorim, who harboured doubts about his defensive contribution and at one point deployed him as a striker. Mainoo had not started a Premier League game all season when Amorim was sacked at the end of January following a falling-out with director of football Jason Wilcox. Carrick’s appointment changed everything.

With Casemiro having left the club at the end of last season, Mainoo stepped into the deeper midfield role against Ipswich — a position that demands more defensive responsibility — and excelled. His previous partnership with the Brazilian in Carrick’s 4-2-3-1 system had been one of the more effective combinations in the second half of last season, and Sunday’s display suggested he is capable of anchoring that role on his own.

Maguire was keen to frame the occasional difficult spell as an inevitable part of a young player’s development rather than a cause for concern. “He’s so young — if we want him to play for this club for another 10 years, there’s going to be times where he goes through a patch like with Rashy and myself, but that’s part and parcel,” he said. “He’s really level-headed, really composed, has great belief in his ability and he’s going to be a magnificent player for this club for many, many years.”