'He made mistakes' - Kobbie Mainoo verdict as Man United star sweats on England place

Kobbie Mainoo may only have played 33 games for Manchester United, but he's now on the verge of appearing for England in an international tournament.

The Stockport-born star has had a meteoric rise. His Premier League debut didn't come until the end of November, but he's since grasped the opportunity with both hands. He finished the season as one of the undroppables in Erik ten Hag's side and capped it off with a stunning performance in the FA Cup final win over Manchester City.

That man of the match display, and what turned out to be the winning goal, sealed his place on the plane to Germany, though in truth it had barely been in doubt since his stellar debut in the March friendly against Belgium. Gareth Southgate is a big fan of the midfielder and has fast-tracked him into the senior England set-up.

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The Three Lions start their Euro 2024 campaign on Sunday night against Serbia and there appears to be one spot up for grabs alongside Declan Rice in the centre of midfield. Mainoo had the chance to stake his claim in the warm-up match against Iceland, but like the rest of the England team that night he fluffed his lines as Southgate's men crashed to a 1-0 defeat at Wembley.

The 19-year-old is competing with the likes of Conor Gallagher, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Adam Wharton for a spot in the starting XI, but former Man United and England midfielder Paul Ince believes the youngster isn't ready yet for the step up.

“I think Kobbie Mainoo has done really well this season in a struggling Manchester United team, it’s all happened so quickly and I think he has an