Talented young player Kobbie Mainoo of MU. (Source: Getty Images)

Despite United's recent disappointments, youngster Kobbie Mainoo has been their bright spot.

The player born in 2005 was brought into the MU first team by coach Erik ten Hag at the beginning of the year. He is expected to be a new factor to help the team in this year's campaign after making a strong impression in the pre-season preparation phase.

However, injury forced Kobbie Mainoo to only recently make his first start for the Red Devils (a 3-0 win over Everton) and receive plenty of praise for his performance with 72 minutes on the field, round 13 of the Premier League.

In the eyes of coach Erik ten Hag, Mainoo is exactly the type of player he worked with at Ajax: young, hard-working and talented.

“Kobbie Maino is a talented midfielder with great promise. He made a big impact in the MU 3-0 Everton match,” reputable journalist Fabrizio Romano said about the English midfielder before providing more information.

“The board and Erik ten Hag are really excited about this kid. Kobbie Mainoo is a hard worker, a super professional and everyone at the club loves the way he brings his qualities every day on the training pitch.

The right mentality is very important for young players and Mainoo seems to have something special.”

After appearing in the starting lineup for MU against Everton, Kobbie Mainoo continued to be put on the field by coach Erik ten Hag in the away match against Galatasaray in the Champions League, before letting the young star return to the starting lineup when the Red Devils played Newcastle last weekend.

Romano showed that MU is not worried about Man City taking away their talented player: “In recent weeks, we have heard rumours that Man City are planning to try to sign Kobbie Mainoo in the future, but I want to tell you, the top clubs, not only in England but also in other countries, know very well about this boy.

But United are not worried. They were very smart to choose the time to extend Mainoo's contract until 2027 and as far as I know, there is an option for a further 12 months."

In addition, sources in England said that because of Kobbie Mainoo's recent impressive form, MU decided to "reward" him by doubling his salary, he will receive about 20,000 pounds/week.