Roy Keane lavishes praise on Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo | OneFootball

Manchester United legend Roy Keane heaped praise on starlet Kobbie Mainoo before England’s 2-1 victory over Slovakia, in which they booked their place in the quarter finals of 2024.

The three Lions struggled for much of the game but a 95th minute equaliser from Jude Bellingham and a strike in the first minute of extra time from Harry Kane gave them the victory.

The only United representative was Mainoo and he did not let his side down as he put in an impressive display in his first start in an international tournament.

After only making a couple of substitute appearances so far, the United man finally persuaded the much-maligned England manager, Gareth Southgate, that he deserved a start in the heart of the midfield.

A 96% pass rate and 77 touches in his 84 minutes of play showed the positive influence he carried in the English midfield.

In the build up to the match, ITV pundit Roy Keane (via The Mirror gave the 19 year old the highest praise by favourably comparing the player to himself.

The Irishman highlighted the maturity in the midfielder’s game and stated, “you see the stuff he is doing, I played in that position, but he’s doing stuff that probably took me 10 years to learn.”

The former United captain then praised the youngster’s football education at Carrington and believed this has given him the platform to succeed at international level.

“He’s obviously had a great foundation at Man United and he’s getting into good habits but we’ve seen in these big games – and when you’re playing for Man United, every game is a big game for Man United, so he’ll cope with all that.”

Anyone who was a fan of British football in the 1990s knows how good a player Roy Keane was and for him to speak so highly of the United academy product shows how much talent the young man possesses.

Keane is not the only pundit to appreciate his talent as Ian Wright waxed lyrical over the player’s full debut in the Premier League against Everton.

Former United defender Rio Ferdinand also spoke glowingly of the player recently, comparing him to a young Clarence Seedorf.

United fans will be hoping that Mainoo gets the chance to continue his international development when England take on Switzerland this Saturday, aiming for a place in the final four of the competition.

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