Liverpool legend Graeme Souness calls out Man United midfielder for his “naivety”

Football pundit and Liverpool legend Graeme Souness has criticised Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo for his performances for England.

The young midfielder was part of the England team that failed to win the Euros and lost the final against Spain.

Mainoo started the tournament as a benchwarmer but soon after Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Gallagher failed to impress in the midfield, the Man United midfielder was given the opportunity to prove himself.

He impressed Gareth Southgate and the England management setup and cemented a place in the starting line up of the Three Lions.

He started all the knockout matches for the national team and was one of their best performers of the tournament, considering how young he is and how little experience he has.

However, that was still not enough to impress Souness, who said on the Up Front podcast:

‘I think he’s really good on the ball, he’s very talented on the ball.

‘But he doesn’t fully understand the position. He wanders, he empties the middle of the field too readily.

‘I watched him against Iceland (during England’s last Euro 2024 warm-up game) and he was getting thrown to the left and thrown to the right.

‘He came on as a substitute when holding onto a 1-0 lead (during England’s first Euro 2024 game against Serbia) and the first thing he did was chase down the goalkeeper and try to put him under pressure.

‘It’s naivety, he’s still learning the game.’

In a world class squad, Mainoo was one of England’s top performers at the Euros.

He only had his breakthrough season last campaign and straightaway made his place in the England line up.

His rise has been phenomenal and Souness should cut him some slack.

Man United midfielder was one of England’s best players

The Man United youngster performed brilliantly and that is why Southgate showed faith in him despite having a number of other, experienced options on the bench.

The fact that Mainoo is still just 19-years-old and performing like the way he’s performing deserves praise and encouragement.

Souness has a history of issues with Man United midfielders.

The Liverpool legend wasn’t too fond of Paul Pogba, who despite brilliant displays for the Red Devils, never truly impressed Souness.