Manchester United have officially added Harry Amass and Chido Obi to the club’s first team squad.
Both academy stars have experienced a rapid ascension through the ranks at Old Trafford under Ruben Amorim this season with the Portuguese coach famed for putting his faith in talented youngsters.
Amass, 18, made his senior debut in the 3-0 win over Leicester City in March after joining the United academy from Watford in 2023.
The fullback, deployed by Amorim has a wing-back, possesses excellent technical ability but has found the physicality of men’s football a struggle at times in a Red shirt. This is something that the defender will naturally improve as his physique develops, however.
The fact he retains such strong skill on the ball offers a template for his success at senior level long-term, while he continues to make strides off it.
Obi, 17, by contrast, already possesses an imposing frame well-suited to men’s football, standing 6’2.
He was captured from rivals Arsenal in a raid last summer which was widely seen as a coup for the Red Devils given the Dane’s reputation as one of the best prospects in the English youth system.
One of the key reasons why the striker swapped the Emirates for Old Trafford was the path towards first-team football – a promise the club have duly delivered on, even if it was one precipitated by the dismal form of the team’s senior striking partnership of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee.
Hojlund and Zirkzee have combined for just seven goals in the Premier League this year.
To put this pitiful return in context, 38-year-old Leicester City captain, Jamie Vardy, has eight goals for a side destined for relegation before a ball was kicked this season.
As a result, Obi’s presence in first-team training was expedited over the winter period with the 17-year-old handed his debut for the away trip to play Tottenham Hotspur in February, coming off the bench to replace fellow Dane, Hojlund.
It’s a testament to Amorim’s trust in young players that both academy starlets have now officially been added to United’s first-team squad ahead of an important summer window at Old Trafford.
Featured image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
