Ayden Heaven and Chido Obi are the latest teenage stars to emerge at Manchester United, with each manager, and each season, seemingly defined by the rise of young talents in recent years.
For the Red Devils and Erik ten Hag last time out, the talk of the town was academy sensation Kobbie Mainoo, with the Stockport native enjoying a remarkable six months or so following on from his first Premier League start against Everton in November 2023.
From that Man of the Match display, the only way was up for the midfield maestro, with the campaign reaching its climax in the FA Cup final, a game in which both Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho got on the scoresheet.
Those club heroics were followed by standout moments on the international stage, with the teenager starting every knockout game in England’s surge to the Euro 2024 showpiece.
Fast forward less than a year, however, and the 19-year-old has become almost something of a forgotten man at Old Trafford amid what has been an injury-hit season, with doubts emerging around his role in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 set-up.
Football does indeed move quickly, and while Mainoo has not enjoyed the campaign that was hoped, it would be unwise to write him off already. As teammate Rasmus Hojlund stated, this is a “generational” talent, remember.
The latest on Kobbie Mainoo's Man Utd future
Both fans and pundits alike are quick to move onto the shiny new toy, with Heaven and Obi now among the key talking points for the Red Devils, while Mainoo continues his bid to return to full fitness in the background.
Stat (*per game)
Record
Games (starts)
18 (12)
Goals
0
Assists
0
Big chances created
4
Key passes*
0.7
Pass accuracy*
87%
Tackles*
2.1
Interceptions*
0.9
Balls recovered*
4.0
Total duels won*
46%
Even prior to his latest injury, which was sustained back in February, the local hero had endured a mixed time of things under the Amorim regime, with the Portuguese stating that the young diamond had been “struggling a lot” defensively as part of the midfield two.
Those woes had come amid claims in January that Chelsea were potentially keen on making a surprise swoop for his services, with reports suggesting that United and the player had stalled on contract talks.
That has been followed by further claims of late that Mainoo – who still has two years left on his current deal – may even look to move abroad this summer, having reportedly demanded a £180k-per-week salary to stay put in Manchester.
Thankfully, more recent reports have indicated that negotiations over a bumper new deal have been ‘positive’, with INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently quashing suggestions that either Mainoo or Garnacho would be sold to raise profits.
Yes, the Englishman has endured a tricky season, yet having shone in an advanced number ten berth prior to his injury setback – after notably scoring and assisting away at FCSB – there does appear to be a way back into the side moving forward.
Hopefully, the playmaker is still at the start of his United journey. For one of his former colleagues, however, that journey proved relatively short-lived.
The Man Utd star who was ahead of Mainoo
Like Garnacho – who scored twice in the final against Nottingham Forest – Mainoo was a central part of the U18 side that claimed FA Youth Cup glory in May 2022, having started in that showpiece triumph at the age of just 16 at the base of the midfield.
While the latter man did go on to make three appearances in the following season for the first team, it wasn’t until the summer tour of 2023 that he properly established himself as a senior star, having started against the likes of Arsenal and Real Madrid, before being cruelly struck down by injury.
A year earlier, however, another promising starlet had endured a breakout pre-season of his own, with fellow midfielder Zidane Iqbal looking set to be Ten Hag’s first academy success story, amid his displays in the summer of 2022.
Indeed, the Manchester-born, Iraq international had looked “so impressive” up against the likes of Liverpool on that tour, as per BBC Sport’s Simon Stone, with Ten Hag believed to have been left surprised that the youngster hadn’t played for the senior side more regularly.
Prior to that, Iqbal had only made one appearance in December 2021 under Ralf Rangnick, with both he and Charlie Savage among those to feature in a dead-rubber Champions League tussle with Young Boys.
That tally looked almost certain to be bolstered following Iqbal’s displays ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, with journalist Melissa Reddy also highlighting his pre-season impact, after stating that he has “heaps of technical quality, skill and intelligence”.
Frustratingly for the then-teenager – who was even likened to Ten Hag favourite, Frenkie de Jong, by talent scout Jacek Kulig – he was restricted to a peripheral role that season, having failed to even make it off the bench under the Dutchman.
As MEN’s Samuel Luckhurst stated at the time, the 5 foot 11 ace was then ultimately ‘usurped’ by Mainoo in Ten Hag’s midfield pecking order, with the then-United boss taking the decision to sell Iqbal for a reported fee of just £850k in the summer of 2023.
Since joining Eredivisie side Utrecht, the 21-year-old has played just 38 times amid what was an injury-hit debut campaign, albeit while scoring once in 16 league outings in 2024/25 to date.
With United including a buy-back clause as part of the deal amid his move to the Netherlands, it is not out of the question that Iqbal one day ends up back at Old Trafford, even if he is hardly ripping it up at present in his new home.
Most likely, however, it looks like his United chapter has come and gone, with it perhaps hard to argue with the decision to ultimately plump for Mainoo instead.
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