As the young midfielder Kobbie Mainoo is making a name for himself, he received some advice from Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala: be “confident” in your own abilities.

Mainoo had a promising start to the pre-season in 2023/24, but a setback came when he got injured in a friendly match against Real Madrid.

He had to wait until the recent victory over Everton to make his season debut, where he impressed everyone with his skillful and mature performance, despite his young age and limited experience at the senior level..

“I haven’t heard much about him but if he is in the Manchester United squad, he must have lots of quality,” said Musiala ahead of Bayern’s visit to Old Trafford this week.

“I think for a young player, it is about just having that confidence in yourself. Especially when you are playing with older people and people who have a bit more experience that you get that trust that you are meant to be where you are right now.”

At only 20 years old, Musiala has already amassed 140 appearances for Bayern and 25 caps for Germany. He can relate to what Mainoo is going through at the moment.

Mainoo has played for United against Galatasaray and Newcastle since his debut against Everton, but he was left on the bench for the last two games with Chelsea and Bournemouth. Many supporters would like to see him in the starting line-up against Bayern, after his impressive performance against Everton, one of the few bright spots for United this season.

United’s only chance to advance to the Champions League knockouts is to defeat Bayern, who have been unbeaten at this point of the tournament since 2017, and hope for a stalemate in the other group match between Copenhagen and Galatasaray. United will be eliminated from Europe altogether if they lose.

They could still qualify for the Europa League, a trophy they lifted in 2017, if they win and Copenhagen overcome Galatasaray, or if they draw and Galatasaray win.