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Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has admitted that he has one eye on a Euro 2024 spot following his meteoric rise.
Ever since Mainoo made his first full Premier League debut against Everton in November, he has not looked back.
The 18-year-old has quickly cemented his place in Erik ten Hag’s starting XI and is now one of the first names on the team sheet.
He has impressed with his calm and composed displays in the middle of the park and has proven to be the exact profile of player United have been missing for so many years.
A recent ranking named Mainoo as the seventh-best wonderkid in world football.
He was initially set to to link up with the England U21s for the March international break but after a sensational performance against Liverpool in the quarter-final of the FA Cup, it seems like Gareth Southgate changed his mind and elected to make the Carrington academy an extremely late addition to the England squad.
Mainoo’s first senior call-up came exactly 114 days after his Premier League debut.
He spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live via The Independent and said, “It’s been a pretty mad couple of days.”
“Sunday obviously was a great game and a great win, then to get called up to the under-21s obviously I was excited to come. Then getting down here and realising that I was with the first team was amazing. I was shocked and happy and it’s been a whirlwind of emotions.”
He explained that when he was informed he would be joining the senior players for a training session, he assumed they just needed an extra player for the drills.
However, after a conversation with Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland, it became apparent he was set to receive a senior call-up.
Mainoo added, “The games have been coming so fast at United I’ve not really had the time to think about it,” he said of the potential of a senior England call-up. “I have not really thought about it too much. Obviously I knew the international break was coming up, so thought about it a bit but, still, we had so many big games that I couldn’t really take my eye off the ball.”
“But now I’m here, obviously I am taking it all in and it’s been amazing.”
The Stockport-born star relayed that his primary objective for the remainder of the campaign is to continue performing and show Southgate he is deserving of a spot in the Three Lions set-up ahead of Euro 2024 in Germany.
“Yeah, I think that’s the end goal for the season, to get into that squad.”
Unsurprisingly level-headed and grounded, Mainoo mentioned that he must first focus on club football and hopefully everything else will fall into place.
He was asked about the possibility of following in the footsteps of other youngsters who have come before him like Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka.
Mainoo branded the duo as “great players” and expressed his eagerness to emulate them.
He praised two United teammates in particular for aiding him in his development. “I’d say maybe Casemiro or Bruno (have been the biggest influences). Playing in midfield with them two has definitely helped me a lot.”
“They have so much experience, they are great players and had great careers, so to pick up things from them is the best.”
When questioned about who were his footballing idols while growing up, Mainoo named Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and another surprise individual – Eric Cantona.
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