Another week, another loss in the Premier League for Manchester United with Ruben Amorim’s side going down by a solitary goal to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
This was the Red Devils’ 12th league defeat of the campaign, the most number of losses at this stage of the competition since the 1973/74 campaign in which they got relegated.
Most of the big names struggled once again with Andre Onana once again culpable for the goal while Casemiro, handed a rare start due to the injuries in midfield, struggled to deal with the pace of the game.
With Rasmus Hojlund’s goal drought extending to 15 games now, it seemed like the Portuguese tactician would turn to his youthful bench in order to try and grab something from the game.
Chido Obi debut
Instead, Amorim failed to trust the youngsters and only threw on academy sensation Chido Obi in added time with the 17-year-old hardly having any time to affect proceedings.
His league debut was the only silver lining in what was yet another disappointing day for the club with the Dane becoming the 252nd academy graduate to make his first-team debut.
🚨📸 – Chido Obi via Instagram:
“Disappointed with the loss 😤 on a personal note thanks to the gaffer & the club for making a dream come true for me and my family 🤞🏾🙏🏾” pic.twitter.com/1ZezfZoTJr
— Frank🧠🇵🇹 (fan) (@AmorimEra_) February 16, 2025
In the process, Chido Obi (17 years, 2 months, and 18 days old) also became United’s third youngest Premier League debutant behind Angel Gomes (16y, 8m, 20d) and Shola Shoretire (17y, 19d).
After the game, the former Arsenal starlet headed to Instagram to send a message to the club’s supporters in which he thanked Amorim for handing him his debut for the club.
Message to Amorim
“Disappointed with the loss, on a personal note thanks to the gaffer & the club for making a dream come true for me and my family,” he wrote.
It was only a matter of time before Amorim turned to him given the struggles of Hojlund up front. The Denmark youth international has been on fire for the academy, netting 12 goals in as many games including seven strikes in three FA Youth Cup games.
His most recent appearance in the FA Youth Cup saw him net a hat-trick against Chelsea and his exploits had seen fans clamouring for the coach to give him minutes to address the team’s lack of goals.
Amorim did praise the youngster after the game, claiming he can be dangerous in the box and hopefully, he will place more trust in him moving forwards.
Feature image Matt McNulty via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
