Dimitar Berbatov has urged Kobbie Mainoo not to get carried away with his breakthrough performance against Everton.
The 18-year-old marked his inaugural Premier League start at the intense Goodison Park, where the home crowd’s fervor was heightened by their 10-point deduction.
Mainoo displayed composure in the heart of United’s midfield, defying his young age. He is now anticipated to start in a crucial Champions League match against Galatasaray.
Presently, the teenager seems to be preferred over summer signing Sofyan Amrabat in Erik ten Hag’s lineup, but ex-United striker Berbatov emphasizes the risk of overhyping Mainoo based solely on his full debut.
The Betfair ambassador said: ‘Lot’s of people are rightly praising Kobbie Mainoo’s performance. Let’s hope it’s the first of many because sometimes we’re too quick to jump to conclusions.
‘Just let the boy be, let’s hope he’s going to continue on the path of his development and let’s hope he’ll have many more games like this. He’ll have difficult games in the future.
‘It’s a good start. Let’s hope he’s in a good environment outside of the team – this is very important. Let’s hope he stays consistent. Some games he’ll play, some games he’ll be a substitute. But when the manager gives you the trust, try not to let him down.
‘Let’s take it easy for a moment, it’s just one game! It’s a great start, but in the past, there were players with five great games, but they disappeared.
‘I’m very happy young players are given opportunities to show what they can do because they’re hungry. They are there ready to go. When the opportunity arrived in Mainoo’s case, he grabbed it. It’s a great base to build on.
‘Now, the difficult part starts to continue on that road you’re building. You need to be obsessed with becoming the best in your position and to not let the manager down.
‘Now the journey starts for the manager to know how to take care of the player and for the player to take care of himself. United are famous for producing their own players, so it’s great to see academy players in the first-team,’Dimitar Berbatov said.