Carrick's insight into Mainoo's 'character' having known him since 13 at Man Utd

Michael Carrick is enjoying working with Kobbie Mainoo and says homegrown talent like the Manchester United midfielder should be the “foundation” of the club.

The 20-year-old’s whirlwind rise saw him end a breakthrough 2023/24 season by scoring the decisive goal in his boyhood club’s FA Cup final victory against Manchester City before playing for England in the European Championship final.

But just 18 months on, Mainoo’s future looked like it could be away from Old Trafford, with the midfielder failing to make a single Premier League start this term under Ruben Amorim, having seen a loan request rejected in August.

But a change in management has brought an improvement in circumstances, with the academy product thrust into the line-up in Carrick’s first game in charge and impressing in last weekend’s 2-0 derby triumph against City.

United are keen to resume talks with Mainoo over a new contract after previous negotiations stalled, with his current deal running until 2027 with an option for a further season.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with Kobbie,” head coach Carrick said. “I’ve known him since he was young.

“I think I started working a little bit when he was 13, 14 years old, when I was kind of going through my badges.

“Listen, I’ve said it before, I think this club needs young players coming through and being the foundation to understand what it means, and not just for the players or the squad, but for the club and for the supporters.

“I think it’s something that we need to grasp and we need to keep building on.

“Kobbie is a prime example. To come through so quickly and have the rapid rise, to play in some unbelievably-big games and impact those big games and such, shows an awful lot of quality in the terms of the character and to be able to handle it.

“I think part of a career is a few ups and downs and sometimes it goes in different trajectories, but I think we’ve seen last week what Kobbie can bring. It was great.”

While Mainoo could play a key part in United’s future, the club confirmed on Thursday that fellow midfielder Casemiro would not.

The 33-year-old’s contract expires at the end of the campaign and the Red Devils have decided against triggering the clause to extend it by a further season.

United agreed to Casemiro’s request to publicly confirm his exit and the Brazil international said there are “many more memories to create during the next four months”.

Boss Carrick said: “It was kind of decided anyway before I arrived, so it’s not just a knee-jerk kind of decision.

“But the type of personality, the character that he is, I think it shows with his performance last week, where he is mentally and how much it means for him to be here and to finish the season strong.

“I’ve already had that conversation with him and he’s desperate to do well and finish well, and it’s good to see, so I’ve got no doubts about him at all.”

Casemiro could well again line up alongside Mainoo at Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday, where defender Matthijs de Ligt’s two-month absence with a back issue shall continue.

“He had a bit of a setback initially before I arrived,” Carrick added. “Only small…maybe not so much a setback, I think he just was a little bit slower than we’d hoped, but he’s certainly getting closer.

“Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks or so, without putting an exact time (on it), he’ll be back in around it. It’ll be great to have him back.”