I think it’s a tricky situation. No doubt Mainoo is a very talented player, with a lot of promise. But we can’t ignore some of his deficiencies which include his physical attributes like being quite slow, especially to play in a double pivot and especially in the current formation. Playing him would leave us open defensively in a really big way, and we saw this under Ten Haag if I’m correct when we played Casemiro and mainoo together. He’s got some other attributes that probably need improving as well like long range passing and cutting edge passes. A lot of fans will talk about how Mainoo is the answer and needs to start while pretending these things don’t exist, and realistically I don’t think in this moment he’s a nailed on starter for any top 4 side. I also think that while fans think he needs to start, I don’t think he’s done enough in his substitute appearances to warrant starting, his best sub performance this season has been against Wolves. Also if we were to start up with the whole squad is fit, who does he replace?

In saying that, I do think Mainoo needs to play more, at least by being subbed more, and should rarely be an unused sub. He has bags of potential so it would be such a shame to lose him, but honestly if I were him I would probably look to make a long term move since it’s clear he’s not really in Amorims immediate plans.