Wes Brown agrees with former Manchester United team-mate Rio Ferdinand while insisting that Premier League rising star Kobbie Mainoo has shades of Clarence Seedorf in his game.
The Ajax legend was still a teenager when he won the first of his remarkable tally of four Champions League titles under Louis van Gaal in the mid-1990s.
With Manchester United sixth in the Premier League and eight points adrift of Aston Villa in fourth, Kobbie Mainoo is very unlikely to achieve the remarkable feat of Clarence Seedorf before celebrating his 20th birthday.
But after Rio Ferdinand drew comparisons between Mainoo and a young Seedorf back in February, another former Man United stalwart found himself speaking in similarly glowing terms about a midfielder who appears to share the Real Madrid and AC Milan icon’s supreme poise and metronomic distribution.
Kobbie Mainoo hailed by another Manchester United hero
“I have been watching him,” Brown, a member of Sir Alex Ferguson’s 2008 double-winning squad, tells Squawka, also agreeing with Wayne Rooney’s assessment that there are shades of Bastian Schweinsteiger in the Carrington graduate.
“(Mainoo) is very calm and I know there’s a lot talked about him. But, to me, I think he plays like Clarence Seedorf. Even the way he runs, the way he takes the ball, shields the ball…
“I played against Clarence a few times and he was absolutely quality. Big, strong, did his job perfectly and had the calmness as well to play for a big team, in big games.
“I would say Clarence Seedorf (is the player Mainoo most resembles).”
Mainoo only made his senior debut against Everton in November – the game best remembered for Alejandro Garnacho’s Puskas contender – but has wasted little time establishing himself as one of the first names on Erik ten Hag’s team sheet.
Mainoo has now featured for at least 45 minutes in Manchester United’s last 14 league games. He also claimed the Premier League’s Goal of the Month gong for that stoppage-time stunner at Wolves, completing a double swoop as team-mate Rasmus Hojlund took home the Player of the Month prize for February.
Old Trafford’s own Clarence Seedorf
“He’s been incredible,” Rooney told TNT Sports of Mainoo ahead of Man United’s 2-0 victory over The Toffees on Saturday, also hailing the contributions of the ‘special’ Garnacho.
“At such a young age, the maturity he shows…
“When you see young players come into any first-team, they are normally a bit raw. He reminds me of a young Bastian Schweinsteiger in the way he entices players in and always makes the right decision.
“I think he’s got a real bright future.”