BRUNO FERNANDES spotted Kobbie Mainoo’s talent while watching Manchester United’s Under-18s “two or three years ago”.
The teenage midfielder was the hero as the Red Devils squeezed past Wolves 4-3 at Molineux last night.
TNT SportsKobbie Mainoo chatted to Jules Breach alongside Bruno Fernandes[/caption]
GettyThe 18-year-old celebrates his last-gasp Molineux win[/caption]
ReutersMainoo was mobbed by his thrilled team-mates[/caption]
With Pedro Neto having equalised in the 95th minute, Mainoo provided one last twist in the tale as he slalomed through numerous challenges before whipping a shot beyond Jose Sa.
Moments after the final whistle, the 18-year-old spoke to TNT Sports alongside his captain Fernandes.
Following the youngster’s match-winning moment, his skipper gushed: “He’s a big talent.
“I’ve said it in the past – I’ve seen him play for the Under-18s two or three years ago and I said to a friend who was in Manchester who wanted to see some youth games, I said the name of Kobbie, without knowing he was going to be this talented and this player.
“The talent was there. But he’s better as a kid than a player. He will be in the future equally.”
Mainoo then returned the compliment, saying of Fernandes: “He’s a good role model to look up to and to have on the pitch as well, it’s really good.
“It’s a dream come true. It’s such a tough place to come. They’ve had such a good home run here, so we had to get the win.
“I’ve still not come down from it. I still feel like I’m dreaming to be honest.
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“To start playing in the Premier League for my boyhood club, it’s been amazing and I’m now just trying to get a good run of games in, win more and more games and get real momentum going.”
Mainoo impressed boss Erik ten Hag during pre-season, only to suffer an ankle injury that ruled him out of the first two months of the campaign.
Having now fully recovered he has started the Red Devils’ last eight games, with Ten Hag full of admiration for his performances.
Following last night’s victory, the Dutchman, 54, said of Mainoo: “I think very quickly I saw him.
“I think last autumn I saw him for the first time and at that moment I thought he was playing a little bit too comfortable in the Under-21s, he should be much more dominant.
“We pushed him a lot by that side, by pushing him in training and you see he makes such good progress and he is almost progressing from game to game.
“And of course, it’s wonderful to see and I hope he stays calm like he is, as he did with his goal as well.
“He is determined, he is a good character and I hope he keeps going with this progress.”
United’s last-gasp win saw them rise to seventh in the table, leapfrogging Newcastle and Brighton in the process.
But they remain eight points off fourth-placed Tottenham.
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GettyErik ten Hag is a huge fan of Mainoo[/caption]