I watched Kobbie Mainoo have snowball fights and eat hot dogs - now he can inspire next Man Utd kids

When Nick Cox thinks about Kobbie Mainoo, he doesn't picture the young man impressing for England or the goals he scored for Manchester United last season.

Instead, Cox pictures an exuberant and curious Mainoo when he was just a child, running around the Cliff, a training facility which is now home to United's academy.

"Our youngest players still train at the Cliff, the iconic training ground where Matt Busby prepared his team for a European Cup final and George Best and Bobby Charlton would have reported for their first day at work," head of United's academy Cox told the Manchester Evening News.

"We love it, we think it’s like our spiritual home and we have an indoor area there where we try and ensure feels like the world’s greatest playground. It's an amazing hive of football activity, smiles on faces, kids experimenting, expressing themselves and having a laugh."

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Mainoo's journey from kicking a ball around at the Cliff to becoming a key player for England at Euro 2024 has been nothing short of extraordinary. The youngster was always considered the leading light of his age group in the academy but his progress has been special.

"As much as I’ve seen Kobbie across the journey, the Cliff is where I picture him," Cox said. "When he plays for England he looks as if he’s that little kid, at the Cliff, playing with his mates with a smile on his face and not a care in the world, demanding the ball and expressing himself."

Mainoo has plenty of reasons to smile. Just nine months ago, he returned from an ankle injury sustained in pre-season and made three appearances for the Under-21s. On Sunday, he