As Thomas Tuchel selected his England squad last week, the lack of Manchester United representatives was a familiar sight, with the German coach again overlooking those at Old Trafford.
Mason Mount – part of Tuchel’s Champions League-winning squad at Chelsea – has not featured since the 2022 World Cup quarter-final defeat to France, while Luke Shaw’s most recent outing came in last year’s Euro 2024 showpiece.
Harry Maguire, now 32, has also been gradually phased out, although the biggest disappointment rests with Kobbie Mainoo, amid the 20-year-old’s continued exile at international level.
Now even tipped to make a return to the U21 set-up, the midfielder has gone from playing a starring role in last summer’s knockout stage run, to now representing something of an afterthought for the Three Lions.
With the likes of Elliot Anderson continuing to flourish in his absence, Mainoo’s hopes of featuring at next year’s World Cup are getting slimmer by the day, having no doubt been held back by his limited role under Ruben Amorim in Manchester.
Cast aside at club level, and a forgotten figure for his country, Mainoo faces a fight on both fronts to change his fortunes.
Mainoo’s diminishing role under Amorim
It was just over two years ago that the Stockport native announced himself with a Man of the Match display on his first Premier League start away at Goodison, having finally been thrust into the side after an injury-hit start to the 2023/24 campaign.
The golden boy of Erik ten Hag – who had made a beeline for him earlier that year as United celebrated the Carabao Cup trophy – Mainoo rounded off his breakthrough season with that FA Cup final winner, having also enjoyed notable highs against both Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The sky seemed the limit heading into 2024/25, although injury – and the change in the dugout – brought the youngster crashing back down to earth, with his diminishing status outlined by his desperately brief cameo as United chased a winner in the Europa League showpiece.
After a summer of transfer talk and speculation, including Mainoo’s apparent desire to leave on loan late in the window, his situation has, unfortunately, seen little change, with Amorim seemingly unwilling to deploy the promising midfielder as a partner to Bruno Fernandes in the centre of the park.
Yet to start in the Premier League, the £25k-per-week starlet did play the full 90 minutes against Grimsby Town, having seen Manuel Ugarte hooked instead at the break as the visitors sought out a comeback.
That outing aside, he has totalled just 124 minutes of league action, having failed to even make it off the bench against both Arsenal and Fulham back in August.
A man now on the periphery, a January exit again looks to be being touted – at least he’s not alone in that regard…
Man Utd star is also getting the Mainoo treatment
Not only was the manner of the Grimsby defeat simply embarrassing for Amorim’s side, but it has also had a knock-on effect with regard to squad rotation, with the Portuguese coach now having little need to shuffle his pack – not least with European involvement also not a factor this season.
That early Carabao Cup exit seemingly played a part in forcing Rasmus Hojlund’s exit, with the Dane – as per The Athletic – having been told after that game that he would no longer be needed. Off to Naples you go…
With Benjamin Sesko in the door – and with the likes of Matheus Cunha, Joshua Zirkzee and Chido Obi already in the building – it was deemed that United already had the sufficient depth.
Having now scored two in two heading into the international break, amid a slow start to life in Manchester, Sesko has solidified his place as Amorim’s leading number nine, even playing the full 90 against Sunderland last time out.
Fitness-permitting, the Slovenian will start week in, week out, leaving the aforementioned Zirkzee resigned to a watching brief.
The Dutchman – signed from Bologna on a £36.5m deal last summer – was an unused substitute in that 2-0 win over the Black Cats, having yet to start a game in all competitions so far.
While he did replace Cunha in the early knockings of the win over Burnley, the one-time Bayern Munich man has featured for just 82 minutes in total in 2025/26, while making just three league appearances.
Despite recovering from the audible jeers that met his early withdrawal against Newcastle back in December – having notably scored against both Real Sociedad and Lyon in the Europa League since then – the 24-year-old is falling into Mainoo territory, with a clear role in the side seemingly unclear.
A self-described ‘nine and a half’, Zirkzee has typically featured in a number ten berth under Amorim, although the addition of Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo – alongside the manager’s preference for Mount – has seen him slide down the pecking order.
Zirkzee – 25/26 so far
Games
Minutes played
Arsenal
–
Fulham
–
Grimsby
8
Burnley
59
Man City
10
Chelsea
–
Brentford
5
Sunderland
–
Total
82
Not the orthodox number nine that Amorim is looking for, in contrast to Sesko, it is hard to see where the fleet-footed talent will get minutes, even despite his “insane” quality, as per analyst Ben Mattinson.
Like Mainoo, the forgotten man reportedly wishes to leave in the New Year amid the search for game time, having thus far scored just seven goals in 53 games for the Red Devils since arriving last summer.
A technical talent, but perhaps without the physical attributes that Amorim requires – much like Mainoo – the eye-catching forward already appears to be heading in the same direction as his struggling teammate.
