Denmark U21 boss Steffen Højer has admitted to being very impressed by Manchester United’s young forward Chido Obi during the international break.
Obi joined United last summer from Arsenal and, following a string of fine performances with the U18s, was promoted to the U21s.
His progress in the youth system caught the eye of Ruben Amorim, who gave him an opportunity in the senior set-up. Obi made his first-team debut in the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in February and since then, has made three more senior appearances.
The forward’s rise to stardom saw him rewarded with a first-ever call-up to Denmark’s U21 squad. Obi came off the bench twice during the break, debuting against Poland last week and earning a second cap in Monday’s 1-1 draw with Italy.
Højer spoke to Tipsbladet and was full of praise for Obi, highlighting how smoothly he adapted to the step up.
“I think he will fit in well with the squad,” Højer told the Danish news outlet. “We had talked about it a lot before, because he is five years younger than some of the players we have. He is a very young man. He was there to learn, and we had him there to watch him.”
“He makes a good impression, and I was extremely happy to see how he came into the squad and how the boys welcomed him. He has had a really good trip and has shown himself well.”
“Now it’s home and work further at Manchester United and see if he can get a little more playing time there.”
Højer continued, “He comes in where there is relatively a lot of pressure.
“What you hope with someone like him is that he gets that one chance, because it is absolutely his core competency to be in the box and put the balls in the box. It didn’t come (against Italy).”
“But he came in and worked with the team in a difficult situation, so you couldn’t expect much else from him.”
Obi and United are back in action on April 1 when they go away to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest.
Featured image Matt McNulty via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
