Luke Shaw always knew that Manchester United’s “world at his feet” star was special

There was a moment in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals for England that summed up their quality. He looked in danger for a brief moment as he prepared to receive the ball in his own half, and several Swiss players closed him down. But with a characteristic swivel of the hips and a burst of acceleration, Mainoo was gone.

Leaving the opposition for dead, Manchester United’s number 37 turned a sixpence and charged up the pitch before playing a typically composed pass to the wing.

Resistant to the press, purposeful and blessed with both speed of thought and fleetness of foot, Mainoo only made his England debut in March, but it was moments like these that explain why he is already a starter for both the club, as well as for the country. at only 19 years old.

To paraphrase former Three Lions forward Stan Collymore, Mainoo sometimes “embarrassed” his more experienced colleagues.

But for Luke Shaw, who broke onto the senior scene himself while still a teenager, there was never any doubt that the irreproachable Mainoo would succeed in taking his surprising United to the international stage.

Kobbie Mainoo is now a star for Manchester United and England

“The growth is really scary,” Shaw, a teammate of Mainoo’s for both the Red Devils and the Three Lions, tells Beanyman Sport. “It was very quick for him. When I first saw Kobbie he was in and out of first team training but you could really see the qualities he had.

“He came into pre-season and was unlucky to get injured, which maybe set him back a bit but didn’t stop him. I think his qualities showed. I don’t see him as a young man anymore and I think he is one of our main players.

“For me, he has the world at his feet. He can do it all, he just needs to stay poised and keep working hard.

“He can honestly accomplish anything. I’m not surprised at how easily he went about it (in England) because he did it with United. He came out of nowhere and took it easy.

“It didn’t really surprise me, everyone knows his qualities and it was just about getting him into the team and once that happened it was about showing how important he can be.

“It’s a big pat on the back for him because what he’s done so far has been really good.”

Mainoo is due to start when England face the Netherlands

Mainoo has made just two competitive starts for England but must surely be one of the first names on Gareth Southgate’s squad sheet for Wednesday’s semi-final against the Netherlands.

The Stockport-born schemer’s remarkable composure and varied range of passing will be key if England are to win the midfield battle against the bursting talents of Jerdy Schouten and the ball-carrying excellence of AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders.

Rio Ferdinand, speaking on his Vibe with Five podcast, believes Euro 2024 was the teenager’s tournament; Mainoo, one of the outstanding talents of the competition, alongside the Turkish Arda Guler and the Spanish Lamine Yamal.

“Kobbie Mainoo, Arda Guler – the boy who carried the Turkish team almost at the back (vs Austria in the round of 16), they were magnificent – and then Yamal,” said the United legend when he picked his international breakout stars from the Euros 2024..

“Those three were like super exceptional. I don’t think I’ve ever seen three teenagers in a tournament come to the fore like that.”

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