Not sure how people come to this conclusion when the kids best moments are in the final third.
I said it before and il say it again, We have an Iniesta type of player and we are trying to play him as a DM.
You mean most wow moments or eye catching for being fancy when you say best here, because the benefit of him deep is him getting more touches, dictating the game and ensuring a more solid and constructive build-up and build out to positions further up the pitch.
'Best' obviously becomes subjective and down to what each individual values in midfield on a given day. The kid can play #6, #8 and evidently has the skills to be some kind of fixture even beyond that and into a hybrid #8/#10 given the composure and quality of his offensive forays, but in terms of value to this current team, it's prudent to look at what we're good/bad at and what he's currently excelling in as opposed to what he is currently not great at.
We're bad at initial collection off the CB's and turning out to face the play, avoid the press and succinctly progress the ball through lines... unless Mainoo plays there; his weakest attribute by far is his stamina, so, having him sit and not have to expend his tank with constant, high pressure sprints is probably optimal right now, until he gets that adult engine.
Playing him farther forward means others are in charge of progressing the ball to him... only Eriksen can do that with any authority, but with that comes his physical liabilities, so it's not feasible, especially next to Mainoo - that's a pairing that can't do more than 45min together if Mainoo is involved in high volume sprinting, so what are we left with in terms of options to get the ball to Mainoo in an effective, constant manner? There in lies a major issue until it's addressed: whichever way we look at it, he needs players with a high degree of competency in order for he himself to be optimised and able to play that rapid combination football that makes the ball - not legs - do all the heavy lifting and enables the collective to conserve energy and reduce sprinting to the minimal levels that ensure the whole unit looks fit and bright for an entire game rather than a fraction of it. When/if we get that, Mainoo can be slotted into the position that gives him all the freedoms to express himself to the fullest without potentially compromising the unit
For us, in regard to Mainoo, summer can't come soon enough, and you'd expect a massive recruitment drive to get players in to complement him and have us contesting outright as one of the best midfields in the league alongside City, Arsenal and Liverpool. Mainoo should force these aspirations along as a point of order.
