England manager Gareth Southgate says Kobbie Mainoo is doing "brilliantly" but has not had enough playing time this season to earn a maiden squad call-up.

Mainoo, 18, made his full Premier League debut on November on November 26 and he has appeared 22 times for Manchester United since his debut in January 2022.

The midfielder was touted for inclusion in Southgate's squad for this month's friendlies against Brazil and Belgium but Mainoo is set to figure for the Under-21s instead.

Mainoo sustained an ankle injury against Real Madrid during United's pre-season tour and was sidelined for four months. Even though Mainoo has established himself as a starter for United, Southgate suggested his relative rawness counted against him.

"I think that he's doing brilliantly for a young player and we're never slow to put a young player into seniors," Southgate said. "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.

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"So 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) and 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 with Manchester United at the moment. And he looks a really good character."

Southgate's decision comes as Ghana FA chief Randy Abbey stressed last month that his association are working hard to convince Mainoo to represent their country over England.

So far, Mainoo has represented England at U17s, 18s and 19s but that has not stopped Abbey from putting feelers out to see whether the United man would be open to switching allegiances. Speaking to The Times, Ghana FA's executive council member said: "The Ghana Football Association is interested in monitoring, attracting, and persuading all eligible talents for its various national teams.

"Kobbie is definitely one of such incredible talents, and the Association will love to work with him and many like him at home and abroad."