By Steven Railston

Copyright manchestereveningnews

Paul Scholes says he can’t understand what is happening with Kobbie Mainoo at Manchester United . Mainoo was outstanding during his breakout season in 2023-24, establishing himself as a first-team starter following a special performance against Everton on his full Premier League debut. The youngster featured for England at Euro 2024 and started against Spain in the competition’s final. Gareth Southgate said at the time: “We haven’t really had a player like him until now”. Last season was stop-start for Mainoo due to a few small injuries and concerns about where he fits into Ruben Amorim’s system. Amorim played the midfielder in different positions, even using him as a false nine. Mainoo relocated to the deeper midfield role in pre-season this summer, but Amorim recently raised eyebrows when he said Mainoo was competing with Bruno Fernandes for a start. The 20-year-old has not started in the Premier League so far this season and was introduced from the bench in the second half against Manchester City . And Scholes has been left puzzled. He told the BBC : “No I can’t [understand the situation]. He came onto the scene a couple of years ago and I thought ‘Wow, what a player’. “His legs have been questioned, but go back to that game yesterday and it’s not all about that, they had plenty of possession. Bruno Fernandes can be fine in central midfield when he has hold of the ball. “When you are playing against better teams, there are times when you’re not going to have the ball, and that’s when you have to know the position brilliantly. Every manager is clever these days, and Pep is the very best at getting people in behind his midfield. He had Foden doing it and Bernardo doing it. “He had Doku coming inside. I’ve been there myself, you’re constantly looking over your shoulder, thinking where is my man, it’s a horrible place to be at times. If you’re on the ball all the time, then Fernandes is brilliant [in deeper midfield]. “Now Kobbie Mainoo is the same I think on the ball, he can be fantastic, but he needs a proper partner next to him. I don’t think Ugarte… he’s got the legs but doesn’t have the quality. “We know Casemiro had the quality over the years but he’s slowed down now. Again, I look at my career, I wasn’t the greatest in that position, I didn’t know it brilliantly well, but the guy next to me always did. “They knew it so well, Roy Keane, Nicky Butt and Michael Carrick, they were perfect for me. I don’t think the partnership is working for any of them because they don’t know the position as well as they should.” Speaking before the Manchester derby, Amorim discussed Mainoo and said: “Sometimes, I look at Kobbie Mainoo and I feel that sometimes he was like – and I watched a lot of games from the Premier League when I was in Portugal – and you can feel that the Manchester United team was really transitional. “He was the only guy who calmed down the game. Now we have other players who can calm down the game. We play a different game, and sometimes I expect more from Kobbie Mainoo. “And I know that he can give that. So sometimes, like you said, maybe if I start more Kobbie Mainoo, then he is going to play and he’s going to get hard to take out. Sometimes it’s not fair, but I need to go with what I’m feeling in the moment, and that is the only feeling. “I know that he started the final of the European Championship in one team that has a lot of talented players. (Phil) Foden played in that game. (Cole) Palmer was on the bench. He (Mainoo) was playing… I know all that. But sometimes I have a different way of seeing the game.” Scholes also questioned United’s decision to sign Senne Lammens, who started the Manchester derby on the bench, while Gianluigi Donnarumma sparkled on his debut for City. “If Man United weren’t in for Donnarumma when he was made available, that should be a criminal offence,” said Scholes. “The new keeper [Lammens], brought in from Belgium, he was what, £20 million? I think that tells you what you need to know. It’s very difficult to say what the ambition should be when they’ve got four points from four games. It’s difficult to be ambitious when you see what you’re seeing.” – Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories. And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts , and you can also watch along on YouTube .