Gary Neville names two Man Utd stars who must not play together after Spurs draw | Football
Gary Neville has ‘seen enough’ of Manchester United’s midfield partnership of Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo, insisting the pair is not dynamic enough for the Premier League.
United spent over £150million rebuilding their midfield in the summer transfer window with Andrey Santos, Carlos Baleba and Tielemans joining the club.
Tielemans and Mainoo have emerged as Michael Carrick’s first-choice pairing with Baleba’s start to life in Manchester delayed due to an ankle injury suffered in pre-season with Brighton.
The duo started against Tottenham on Saturday night but were overrun and overpowered by Sandro Tonali, Lucas Bergvall and Conor Gallagher.
Tielemans in particular struggled with the speed and athleticism of his Tottenham counterparts and was replaced before the hour mark with Baleba on for his debut.
The Tielemans and Mainoo combination has started five of United’s six league games this season but former captain Neville is not convinced the partnership is up to standard.
United are on the road in their next three games, away to Atletico Madrid and Como in the Champions League either side of a trip to Leeds in the Premier League with Neville warning Carrick must make his midfield changes quickly.
‘Tielemans and Mainoo, I think we’ve seen enough of it now,’ Neville said on the Gary Neville Podcast after Saturday’s game.
‘I’m not calling time on it because that’s probably too drastic but I’ve seen enough to think that’s not a midfield that’s dynamic enough to play at this football club in the Premier League.
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‘I think they are both good players, by the way, individually. But sometimes you just have players that don’t quite knit together or don’t quite suit each other.
‘I think when [Carlos] Baleba came on with Mainoo, it looked like there was a lot more energy.
‘There’s going to have to be something done in there, and the rest of them are going to have to get a grip because they are going to a Diego Simeone Atletico Madrid and Elland Road.
‘If you’re not quite right there from a mental and physical perspective, you’re going to get found out.
‘They’ve got a couple of days to recover, pick themselves up from this, and get going because if they don’t get going, it’s going to be a worrying few weeks.’
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