You can imagine the delight Kobbie Mainoo felt after hearing the news of Ruben Amorim's sacking. Kobbie Mainoo was clearly not favoured by the Portuguese manager, and has not started a single game all season. The English midfielder was even looking for the door, and was linked with a move away.
Now that Amorim has departed, Kobbie Mainoo's future has been opened up. It's highly likely that Mainoo's future is now at Old Trafford rather than outside of it, but he undoubtedly has something to prove.
Most Manchester United fans still love Kobbie Mainoo. The roar from the crowd whenever he has been subbed on in the past few months is enough to show his popularity among the fans. But Ruben Amorim said on multiple occasions that Mainoo had aspects of his game he needed to work on in order to become a rounded midfielder.
This is partly due to the system Amorim deployed. Amorim's system favoured some players, but some players may find new life beyond Amorim's tactics, and Kobbie Mainoo is primed to exploit that change.
The most meaningful change is likely to be the removal of Bruno Fernandes from the central midfield positions. Bruno was always somewhat wedged into Amorim's system, playing deeper than where he is best suited to assist in build-up, and to use his absurd work-rate to make the stretched midfield pairing work.
Now that the Amorim system is gone, and Bruno is vacating that midfield position to play as a number 10 or a number 8, that opens up a place in the starting XI for Kobbie Mainoo. Mainoo now has a real opportunity to stake his claim on a starting position.
If the new formation that United move forward with involves three midfielders, such as a a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, then Mainoo can return to his favoured number 8 position, have his weaknesses covered by an experienced number 6 in Casemiro, and prove the doubters wrong, potentially with just one game.
If Mainoo puts in a standout performance against Burnley, or in one of the following games against Manchester City or Arsenal, he has the chance to completely upend the narrative that Ruben Amorim led with. Mainoo will no doubt be fuelled by the wish to prove Amorim wrong, but also to prove to the next manager that he belongs at Manchester United.
Mainoo will still have to overcome his injury that has kept him out for the past two weeks. But with reports that Mainoo has returned to training on grass this week, there is a good chance that Mainoo will push to make himself available, given the circumstances.
Everyone at Manchester United wants Kobbie Mainoo to succeed. He's a boyhood United fan and a graduate of the youth academy, and he's shown on multiple occasions how talented he is, including starting the European Championship final for England in 2024.
Mainoo surely has his sites set on a spot in the England squad for the World Cup. If Mainoo can impress in his first game after Amorim's departure, he can shift the narrative in his favour, and bring himself one step closer to a spot in Thomas Tuchel's squad.