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Ruben Amorim has denied not trusting Manchester United’s academy by pointing to his selection of Kobbie Mainoo in the matchday squad.
Mainoo was an unused substitute in Thursday’s 1-1 draw at home to West Ham. The 20-year-old midfielder, who has been at the club since he was six, has made 10 appearances this season but only one start, against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup.
Amorim was asked whether he trusted the academy. “Why [ask]? We have Kobbie Mainoo,” he said. Of Mainoo’s disappointment at not playing, he said: “I see it. I see it and I just want to win. I don’t look who it is, I don’t care about that, I just try to put the best players on the pitch. You have [Manuel] Ugarte that played two games [in the league], one of them [when] Casemiro was out. Bruno [Fernandes] is always fit, he’s the guy that is doing his [Mainoo’s] position so maybe it has to do with that.”
It was suggested to Amorim that he could also play the forward Shea Lacey, 18, who has been named in the past three matchday squads. He said: “When Bryan [Mbeumo] is not there I put Amad [Diallo] because I have other wingbacks to play and sometimes it’s hard. You are asking me why don’t I put Lacey to play when I have other guys that are internationals and they are also on the bench, so I try to put the best-prepared guys for this moment.”
Amorim will lose Mbeumo and Diallo when the Cameroonian and Ivorian go to the Africa Cup of Nations. With Fernandes able to fill a vacant No 10 spot, the head coach was asked whether it could mean a chance for Mainoo. “It depends,” he said. “If I see in the training it is the best thing, I will put him in.”
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The Cup of Nations begins on 21 December in Morocco but Amorim said he did not know when Diallo and Mbeumo would depart for the tournament. “They are going to play the next game and that is the only thing I care about,” he said, looking to Monday’s game at home to Wolves. The mandatory release date is 15 December, when United play at home to Bournemouth.
