When Kobbie Mainoo limped out of Manchester United’s pre-season friendly against Real Madrid in Las Vegas a year ago and began a four-month lay-off, there were no guarantees he would break into the first-team last season let alone end it playing in the finals of the FA Cup and Euro 2024 as a regular for club and country.
Now Mainoo is the example for United’s aspiring young stars to follow, just like Alejandro Garnacho before him. While the United squad have been in Los Angeles for the last two weeks, Mainoo has been enjoying a holiday in the Californian city – although he did drop in on the last day of training at the UCLA campus to wish his teammates well before they flew to South Carolina for the final tour game against Liverpool.