Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has urged Kobbie Mainoo to “have patience” given his current role at the club, but admits many feel he should be playing more often.

Mainoohas not had the role he’d have expected at Unitedthis season. In the last couple of seasons, he was playing semi-regularly, but this term he has played just 212 minutes in the Premier League and is yet to start.

It’s evident that Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro are the favoured midfield pair, and Mainoo knows he’s never going to displace the former.

The suggestion for months has been that he wants to leave United in search of better opportunities, and the latest report suggested his relationship with the club is ‘at breaking point’as he attempts to find his way out.

But United legend Giggs has urged patience from Mainoo, after his former team-mates Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt suggested he should leave.

He told Metro: “I can see where the lads [Scholes and Butt] are coming from.

“As a footballer, you want to play. But I would have more patience because he is only 20, and it is difficult to play centre midfield for Man United. It’s like a striker. You don’t see many really young strikers playing for Man United because it is difficult.

“We all feel that he should be getting more minutes, but he needs to be patient. He’s still young, he’s still learning the game. And when he does get his chance, he needs to take it. So I’d like to see him stay.”

Giggs does feel manager Ruben Amorim has shown a willingness to pick young players, though.

He said: [Ayden]?Heaven has played in some really tough games lately at centre-half, which isn’t easy. So you are seeing the manager picking a 19-year-old. Recently, Shea Lacey was on the bench, who is only 18. So the manager has played young players.

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“But it depends on what the manager sees every day. Because I was given a chance when I was younger. I always give young players a chance because they’ll never let you down and will do exactly what you say.

“United have got a massive history of academy players coming through, but they’ve got to be good enough. They’ve got to be good enough. You can’t just have a philosophy of playing young players who aren’t good enough. That can’t happen.

“So that filters down below the first team. That’s the recruitment, the players who are playing in the youth team, playing in the reserves or the 21s, whether they be local lads or players from around the world.”

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