England: Kobbie Mainoo called up to senior Three Lions squad for first time

Manchester United youngster Kobbie Mainoo has been called up to the senior England squad for the first time.

The 18-year-old had missed out on Gareth Southgate’s group, and was instead set to feature for the Under-21 team, but he will now join up with the senior side ahead of two high-profile friendlies.

The Three Lions face Brazil at Wembley on Saturday, before hosting Belgium three days later as they continue to build towards this summer’s European Championship in Germany.

Mainoo has been a regular in the Manchester United midfield since making his first Premier League start in November, with his Champions League debut following three days later.

Nobody has dropped out of the initial 25-man squad named by Southgate, with Mainoo added to the group as reward for his club form.

When asked last week why he had left Mainoo out of his latest squad, Southgate emphasised the need to be “very careful” with the teenager, who he suggested needed more first-team experience.

“I think that he’s doing brilliantly for a young player, and we’re never slow to put a young player into the seniors, but he’s only had a handful of games and you have to be very careful development-wise in making those decisions at the right time,” Southgate said.

‘We think ideally we should allow him that space to develop at his own speed. He’s not at the point in terms of number of games that Jude [Bellingham] or Bukayo [Saka] were when they came in for the first time.

“But I repeat he’s doing really well for a young player, he’s a good footballer, you can see that and he’s getting some fabulous experience at Manchester United at the moment and looks a really good character.”

Mainoo has swiftly established himself as a regular in Erik ten Hag’s side, starting in each of United’s last 12 Premier League matches.

While he represented England from the U17 side through to the U19s, Mainoo, who is eligible to represent Ghana, has not been capped at either U20 or U21 level.

Addressing Mainoo’s England hopes earlier this month, Ten Hag said: "It's not up to me. The England manager, Gareth Southgate, knows very well what he wants and it’s up to him.

"All the things that I can see, and what I saw, is that high potential. Every time, he's going to high levels. Every training, every game, he's playing at higher levels. So he has a high potential but it's up to him to keep the process going and I have to manage this."