“The man” – 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo sends message as Manchester United star returns for pre-season
Manchester United's 18-year-old midfielder Kobbie Mainoo reacted as Alejandro Garnacho returned to the club for pre-season training. Garnacho returned to the club's training facilities on Saturday as the players involved with their national teams had been given an extended break.
The dynamic winger was part of the Argentina squad that faced Indonesia in a pre-season friendly in Jakarta last month.
Garnacho burst onto the scene with the senior team during the 2022-23 season. He scored five goals and provided five assists in 34 matches across competitions for the Red Devils last term.
The youngster has now returned to first team training as he uploaded a picture on social media, writing:
"Back to Manchester = Back home."
Mainoo commented under the post:
"The Man."'
Fans will expect Garnacho to take another step forward and become a regular contributor with the first team in the 2023-24 season.
Mainoo, meanwhile, put on an impressive display during the 45 minutes he played in Manchester United's 2-0 win against Leeds United in their first pre-season game on July 12.
Harry Maguire has been stripped of Manchester United's captaincy
Harry Maguire recently announced on social media that he is no longer Manchester United's captain. Maguire added manager Erik ten Hag informed him about the decision in a recent conversation.
Maguire joined the club in 2019 from Leicester City for a fee of £80 million. He has since made 175 appearances for the Red Devils. Maguire was made the club captain by former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after only six months at United.
Talking about Ten Hag's decision, Maguire wrote on Twitter:
"After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain. He outlined his reasons to me and whilst I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt. So I wanted to say a massive thank you to the [Manchester] United fans for all their brilliant support whilst I’ve been wearing the armband."
The English centre-back added:
"Since the day I took on the role, three-and-a-half years ago, it’s been a huge privilege to lead [Manchester] United and one of the proudest moments of my career to date. It’s one of the greatest honours in club football. I’ve done everything I possibly could to help United be successful - on and off the field."
Ten Hag's decision has also raised doubts about Harry Maguire's future at Manchester United. He has drawn interest from fellow Premier League club West Ham United and a summer transfer could be on the cards for the Englishman.