Chido Obi makes United debut at Tottenham

Chido Obi makes United debut at Tottenham

Manchester United Academy striker Chido Obi made his debut for the club in the closing stages of Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

The 17-year-old, who signed from Tottenham’s north London rivals Arsenal last October, has made a notable impression for the club’s youth teams this season and was rewarded with his first-team bow as United sought out a late equaliser in the capital.

Obi replaced Casemiro in the first of three stoppage-time minutes at the end of the second half and, while United were unable to find the net in the time remaining, the youngster will be able to look back on today proudly with his milestone moment after becoming the club’s 252nd Academy graduate.

The Dane’s goalscoring exploits in the youth ranks at Arsenal meant excitement naturally greeted his arrival among supporters last year, and the forward quickly showed the intent that he came to Manchester with, scoring a 15-minute hat-trick on his Under-18s debut against Nottingham Forest.

He’s since took his U18 Premier League tally to five in six appearances and has already notched seven in our three FA Youth Cup matches this season, netting braces in wins versus Coventry and Preston before another treble, in this month’s fifth-round success over Chelsea at Leigh Sports Village.

Chido has also been able to gain experience in our Under-21s’ side since the turn of the year, playing twice in Premier League 2, including a full 90 minutes against Tottenham earlier this month.

The 17-year-old had been one of several young Reds to train with the first team in the build-up to today’s meeting with Spurs’ senior side, and was included in the first-team squad for the first time as a member of a youthful-looking bench, with United’s senior ranks depleted heavily as a result of fresh injuries and illness.

Asked about bringing Chido on, Ruben Amorim said during his post-match press conference: “I think if you see Chido playing sometimes, every ball lost in the box, he’s very clever. So, I was trying to put one more player [in there].

“I felt the team was good during the game and I didn’t feel the need to change. Then, Chido was like that player, one long ball in and he could make the difference.”

Obi was Amorim’s only introduction on the afternoon and, while it was only a brief cameo, it will no doubt serve as further motivation for the young striker to keep striving towards being a regular part of the first-team setup in the weeks and matches ahead.

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