Manchester United looked energised and attentive against Premier League highflyers Liverpool and Arsenal with one man in particular playing a key role.

The Red Devils have looked a different animal all together recently and to no surprise, it’s come with the demotion of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen in midfield to the promotion of Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo.

Mainoo faces an uncertain future at Old Trafford with PSR issues circling, though, despite the attention around a potential shock move to Chelsea, the teenager has performed excellently in his last two outings.

READ MORE: What Ruben Amorim has made of Manchester United kids after watching Under-18s ahead of Youth Cup

READ MORE: Ruud van Nistelrooy at his 'lowest point' since leaving Man United as Leicester hit new low

The Stockport-born teen was deemed one for the future during his time in United’s academy, playing his part in Under-18s FA Youth Cup victory in 2021/22, going onto win the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award in 2022/23- following in the footsteps of United legends Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Marcus Rashford.

Then 17-year-old Mainoo made his debut in the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Charlton Athletic in January 2017, going on to cement his place in midfield in the 2023/24 campaign, seeing his impressive performances capped off with a man-of-the-match display in the 2023/24 FA Cup final win over Manchester City.

And despite establishing himself in the England team, starting all four of their Euro 2024 knockout matches in their trip to the major tournament final, he initially slowed down in the first part of the 2024/25 season, under Erik Ten Hag.

Given his hectic workload across the last 18-months, the 19-year-old can be forgiven for this dip in form and his potential remains great. Since Ruben Amorim walked through the door in November, he’s slowly gotten back to his best, looking strong and composed in United’s draw and win at Anfield and the Emirates.

Mainoo was also instrumental in United's win in the Manchester derby last month and prior to the third round FA Cup victory against Arsenal, Amorim stressed patience yet excitement on his young midfielder:

‘‘I think you can feel that he is the finished product, but he’s not yet. He has so much potential to grow even more, but he is really good and can be so much better.’’

His potential has been on full display lately. Mainoo’s maturity, and coolness on the ball against two of the Premier League’s best sides, who press and harass their opponents for 90 minutes, shouldn’t go unnoticed; it’s extraordinary and rare for a young player to show such composure.

The teenager showed his guile in tight spaces and his ability to take the ball from deep areas and drive his team up the pitch in both encounters: he’s as press resistance as it gets. In fact, Mainoo averages 3.10 successful take-ons per 90 minutes (96th percentile) compared to his positional peers across Europe’s top five league. He won all three of his aerial duels against Arsenal, looking like a footballer with more than just 39 Premier League appearances under him.

United’s improvement has been fuelled by Ugarte and Mainoo’s partnership, and losing the latter would be a disaster for the club. The chances of finding someone as young and talented United’s number 37 without re-investing that money are next to none.