Man Utd Star was ahead of Mainoo, and Ten Hag sold him for just £850,000

Aiden Haven and Chid Obi are the latest teenage stars to emerge at Manchester United, and appear to be defined by each season and the rise of young talent in recent years.

Last time, Red Devils and Erik Ten Hag talked about towns with Kobbie Mainoo, academy sense. The Stockport native has lasted about six months since his first Premier League start with Everton in November 2023.

From the Man of the Match display, the only way to get up for the Midfield Maestro. The campaign reached its climax in the FA Cup final, a game in which both Mine and Alejandro Garnacho rode on the scoresheets.

These club heroes are followed by outstanding moments on the international stage, with teenagers starting all the British knockout games into the showpiece of EURO 2024.

But fast forward in under a year, the 19-year-old became Old Trafford’s forgotten man in an injured season, and questions came to mind about his role in Reuben Amorim’s 3-4-3 setup.

Football certainly moves quickly, and while Mainoo doesn’t enjoy the expected campaign, it’s not wise to write him down already. As my teammate Rasmus Hojlund said, remember this is a “generational” talent.

Kobbie Mainoo’s Man Utd Future latest news

Fans and critics alike will soon move on to new shiny toys. Heaven and Obi are now one of the Red Devils’ important story points, with Mine continuing his bid to return to full fitness in the background.

Even before his latest injury, maintained in February, the local hero endured the mixed hours of things under the Amorim regime.

These calamities came amid claims that Chelsea was eager to make a surprise dive over his services in January.

That has been followed by recent claims that Mainoo (still remains in the current deal for two years) even moving abroad this summer, demanding a salary of £180,000 a week to stay in Manchester.

Thankfully, more recent reports show that negotiations over the Bumper New Deal were “positive” and Ineos Chief Jimuratcliffe recently cancelled the proposal that Mine or Garnacho would be sold to make a profit.

Yes, the British have endured a tricky season, but before the injury set-off, they glowed in 10 berths of advanced series – it appears there is a way to go back to the forward side, especially after scoring and supporting at the FCSB.

Hopefully, the playmaker is still at the beginning of his united journey. However, for one of his former colleagues, the journey turned out to be relatively short-lived.

Man Utd star who was ahead of Mainoo

Like Ghanacho, who scored twice in the final against Nottingham Forest, Mineu was the central part of the Under-18 side, who claimed the glory of the FA Youth Cup in May 2022, beginning his showpiece victory at just 16 years old at the midfield base.

The latter man continued to make three appearances for the first team the following season, but up until the summer tour of 2023 he was brutally hit by injuries, opposed to things like Arsenal and Real Madrid.

But a year ago, another promising starlet endured his own preseason breakout, in which fellow midfielder Zidane Iqbal was set up in his display in the summer of 2022, to become the first academy success story of 10 hugs.

Certainly, Manchester-born Iraq International looked “very impressive” for something like Liverpool on its tour, according to BBC Sports’ Simon Stone.

Prior to that, Iqbal had only appeared once in December 2021 under the Lal Frangnick.

That tally was almost certainly seen to be bolstered following Iqbal’s display ahead of the 2022/23 campaign. Journalist Melissa Reddy highlights the impact of his preseason after stating that he has “a mountain of technical quality, skill and intelligence.”

It was frustrating for TeeNager at the time, who was likened to Ten Hag’s favourite Frenkie de Jong by Talent Scout Jacek Kulig.

As the man Samuel Luckhurst stated at the time, the 5-foot-11 ace was eventually “stolen” by Mainoo in the midfield hierarchy of Ten Hag.

Since joining Utrecht on the Eredivisie side, the 21-year-old has only played 38 times in the injured debut campaign, scoring once for 16 league outs in 2024/25.

It’s not a problem that Iqbal will one day return to Old Trafford, even if United include a buyback clause during his move to the Netherlands as part of his contract and he barely tears it apart in his now new home.

But perhaps, while his united chapter has come, it would probably be difficult to discuss the decision to ultimately plump Mainoo instead.