Rio Ferdinand compares Manchester United youngster Kobbie Mainoo to Premier League title winner

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has compared youngster Kobbie Mainoo to former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas after his impressive showing against Everton on Sunday.

The Stockport-born academy graduate was handed his first Premier League start against the Toffees and produced a faultless performance in midfield. Deployed in the engine room alongside Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes, he dictated proceedings and earned widespread plaudits for his performance.

Though he has only made four senior appearances for United, three of which were made last season, the quality of his performance on Sunday suggests that he may now become a mainstay in Erik ten Hag's thinking. The United manager rates him very highly and handed him four consecutive starts in pre-season prior to suffering an ankle injury.

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Like so many others, Ferdinand was impressed by the standard of Mainoo's performance on his full league debut, waxing lyrical about his composure and style of play. He felt his composure was comparable to Fabregas' when he arrived in the Premier League at a young age.

"I don't know how they gave the Man of the Match [award] elsewhere," said Ferdinand, speaking on the Vibe With Five podcast. "At 18-years-old, especially [in] centre-midfield, very rarely do you see a composed performance like that.

"Away from home it's crash, bang, wallop. At Everton, at Goodison [Park], under the circumstances they went there [that could have been the approach].

"The way he was dropping in between the centre-backs, not even getting it and bopping it one or two