West Ham’s Michail Antonio has admitted that he was taken aback by the talent of Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo when he first saw the teenager in action.

Antonio was sidelined with a knee injury when the Hammers took on Erik ten Hag’s side at the London Stadium back in December but, watching from the stands, he said he was blown away by Mainoo’s ability:

“He is frightening, he is actually frightening. The craziest thing is that when they came to us at the beginning of the season, I didn’t know much of these players like and this was United, but when he played against us I was like ‘this kid is something special’.”

“Then I was like where did they sign him from? They had to have signed him, this guy was a joke, but he came through the academy, this kid is something else.”

Mainoo has taken the Premier League by storm

While many United supporters were excited by the 18-year-old’s potential in preseason, many felt it would still take time for him to establish himself as a regular starter.

For one thing, Mainoo picked up an ankle injury which kept him on the sidelines until late October so no one was expecting the player to hit the ground running on his return to fitness.

However, after some impressive displays, Mainoo has already become a mainstay in the first team and that’s a testament to his talent.

Could the United star play at the European Championships?

Mainoo’s rise has been pretty meteoric, with there even being suggestions that he could make England’s squad for Euro 2024. He wasn’t initially called up for the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium last month but manager Gareth Southgate decided to draft him in for the Belgium game and he put in a player of the match performance on his debut.

With the Three Lions not having a great deal of depth in central midfield, there is now a strong possibility that he could be on the flight to Germany.