Gary Lineker 'worried' by Kobbie Mainoo Man United situation amid honest admission

Gary Lineker has expressed his concern over the treatment of Kobbie Mainoo at Manchester United - admitting he's "baffled" by the youngster's lack of playing time under Ruben Amorim. Despite impressing in his brief cameo during Sunday's defeat to Manchester City, Mainoo, 20, is yet to start a Premier League match so far this season and was once again named on the bench for the clash.

The England international made an impact when he was brought on in the 62nd minute, recording a 100 per cent pass success rate from his 17 attempts. He also won all three of his duels and made one successful dribble.

Following his performance, some United supporters have urged Amorim to give Mainoo a starting berth against Chelsea on Saturday as they seek out only their second victory of the campaign. The Stockport-born prodigy has played just 73 minutes of top-flight football this term, having been an unused sub against Arsenal and Fulham.

READ MORE: Man Utd fans spot what Kobbie Mainoo did seconds after coming on vs Man City

READ MORE: Why time is running out for Ruben Amorim to show he is the man to turn Man Utd around

Ex-Leicester City and Tottenham star Lineker has now shared his thoughts on Mainoo's predicament, expressing worry about his inability to break into the United first-team. Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker voiced his concerns: "It really worries me the way Kobbie Mainoo has been kind of almost dismissed, he's such an incredible young talent, local boy as well doing really well.

"I mean, I thought when he came on, he did really quite well. I don't get it. I don't know whether there's something that we don't know about or something like that, but it's slightly baffling to me."

United were soundly defeated at the Etihad Stadium, with Erling Haaland netting twice in the second half to seal the victory for City. That came after Phil Foden's 18th-minute opener.

"They just looked so poor," Lineker added on United. "One thing I would say, and in a way he knows how he wants his team to play, he might not have the players, but the one thing I would say, if you constantly tell everybody you're going to continue playing the same way, does that not make your team very easy to plan against? So, City outnumbered them in midfield. They had too many bodies for them. They couldn't cope."

Despite another heavy defeat, Amorim still has the backing of the United board - as per The Manchester Evening News. With only eight wins from his 31 Premier League games at the helm - and United languishing at the bottom of a table of the 17 ever-present top-flight teams since his first match in charge on November 24 - the pressure on him is still mounting, though.

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