Manchester United wonderkid Chido Obi at centre of new plan after two big summer changes
Chido Obi is being earmarked for regular first-team appearances at Manchester United in the new season. Obi, 17, made the bold decision to leave Arsenal last summer and joined the Red Devils, who won the race for his sought-after signature.
Obi had to wait until February to make his first-team debut and he finished the season with eight appearances to his name. Although the Danish striker didn't find the back of the net, he did score twice in a post-season friendly win against Hong Kong.
Fans were given a glimpse of Obi's potential and it's good news for those who are excited to see more of him in the 2025-26 campaign. The teenage sensation, who scored a record-breaking 32 goals in 20 appearances for Arsenal's under-18s before leaving the Emirates, is part of Ruben Amorim's plans.
As first revealed by The Athletic Obi will regularly feature in matchday squads and only play for the U21s occasionally this term. There have also been two big changes for the Denmark youth international.
Obi has firstly received the No.32 shirt, having been No.46 last term. At Old Trafford, the number is most famously associated with Carlos Tevez, who enjoyed two prolific seasons playing for the Red Devils between 2007 and 2009.
Secondly, Obi has visibly bulked up over the summer. The 17-year-old's transformation will stand him in better stead to deal with Premier League defenders and assert himself on opponents.
Senior figures at Carrington are said to already consider Obi a member of the first-team squad, despite his lack of experience. Amorim has been passing on his wisdom to Obi, who said in April: "He's just told me to be humble and keep working hard every day.
"And hopefully I get more opportunities soon. My dad and my mum always told me to be a good person and listen to my coaches because they want me to get better, so it's good.
Will Chido Obi become a starter for Manchester United next season? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
"I've learnt to be smart and to think quicker by training with the first team because the game is quicker compared to academy football. It helps me a lot, training with them every day."
Obi's first target is to impress Amorim during pre-season. United start their run of five friendlies by facing Leeds this Saturday in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Red Devils will then jet off to the USA in the early part of next week for matches against West Ham, Bournemouth and Everton. Amorim's side finish their preparations against Fiorentina at Old Trafford on Saturday, August 9,
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Evening Standard
an hour ago
- Evening Standard
Arsenal FC: Mikel Arteta praises 'intelligent' Cristhian Mosquera as debut planned after £13m deal is completed
Arteta said: "We're delighted to welcome Cristhian to Arsenal. As a 21-year-old defender, Cristhian has already performed consistently well with significant experience in La Liga. He is an intelligent player with good pace, who can play centrally and on both sides.
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Luke Shaw ready to quit Man Utd with injury-hit star offered mega-money swansong in Saudi Arabia
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LUKE SHAW faces a Manchester United exit and the injury-hit star could be gone by January. England left-back Shaw, 30, is aware of serious interest from Saudi clubs and is ready to listen to offers. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Luke Shaw could be on his way out of Old Trafford Credit: Rex He still has two years left on his Old Trafford contract but fears his Red Devils career might be nearing an end. Shaw made just 12 appearances last season after missing the first three months with a prolonged calf problem and is facing limited opportunities. He did start May's 1-0 Europa League final defeat to Tottenham but in a back-three due to a shortage of centre-backs. Shaw is likely to be behind Patrick Dorgu in the left-back pecking order and Ruben Amorim also has high hopes for new boy Diego Leon who has signed for £3.3m from Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno. The physically imposing 18 year old played the first half of last weekend's 0-0 friendly draw with Leeds in Sweden and the Amorim said: 'He did really well. 'He's learning things, he's powerful, he's going to be a very good player.' Meanwhile, Diogo Dalot has been a regular starter a left wing back in the United chief's favoured 3-4-2-1 system. Shaw is in the United squad that begin their pre-season tour of the USA with a clash against West Ham on Sunday - and also featured against Leeds - but knows he is liable to be making up the numbers once the Prem kicks off next month. 4 4 Youngster Diego Leon is tipped for a big future at United Credit: Getty BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS His United career began in heartbreak with a double leg break due against PSV in only his eighth game back in September 2015. Shaw later revealed that surgeons considered amputation due to blood clots discovered in the after-math of the injury. Man Utd hunting Jackson as Chelsea's demands revealed | Transfers Exposed That cost him eleven months on the sidelines and began a nightmare run of problems that has seen him miss almost FIVE YEARS of his United and England career. Shaw is seen as a popular and influential figure within the dressing room and Amorim is in no hurry to dump him or his £150,000 a week wages. But the player himself is determined to make up for so much lost time and knows he faces a tough decision on his future over the coming months. Should he decide to leave it is unlikely United would be difficult to deal with in terms of a fee considering all those injuries and his lack of appearances - only 27 in the last two campaigns. Amorim, meanwhile, is not prepared to break the bank for a new No 9. Fans hoped Alexander Isak's decision to tell Newcastle he wants out of St James' Park might encourage United to bid. But with United's spending on Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo topping £130m this summer, the club are not in a position to go large unless there are significant exits. SunSport revealed Chelsea's Senegal star Nicolas Jackson was eyeing Old Trafford as a potential destination, but the Blues want £80m for him. But United are in no position to push the boat out - opening the door for under-pressure Rasmus Hojlund to stake his claim during the three-match Premier League Summer Series tournament against West Ham, Bournemouth and Everton. On Thursday night Aston Villa moved to dismiss reports United had proposed an audacious swap deal, offering rebel Alejandro Garnacho in return for England striker Ollie Watkins. 4 TRANSFER NEWS LIVE - KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST FROM A BUSY SUMMER WINDOW
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Mason Mount insists he's ready to fight for his place after Man United's £130m splurge on Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha
Mason Mount is backing himself in the fight for places at Old Trafford this season despite Manchester United spending more than £130million on Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. Both new signings play in the two No.10 positions in Ruben Amorim 's 3-4-2-1 system, bringing them into direct competition with Mount. But the 26-year-old former Chelsea star is confident in his ability to hold down a regular first-team place after finally fighting his way back to form and fitness at the end of last season. 'One hundred per cent,' said Mount at United's hotel base in Chicago on their pre-season tour of the US. 'I mean, any time you do get that opportunity to be on the pitch, you want to do something. You want to affect the game. That's always the way I've looked at it. 'Any opportunity you get, you've got to try and take it. I'll always back myself. I know what I can do. But we're a team and we're all working together in that. 'Obviously with the new signings coming in, they're going to elevate us to another level and we all need to be at that level to really perform. 'It's competition. When you're at a club like Manchester United, there has to be that competition there to perform. As a group, we want to win and we're all in that together. We want to perform as a group. We know last season wasn't good enough so it's about kicking on, as I said. 'Looking forward, the new lads that have come in have been brilliant in training so far, and the first couple of weeks is not easy. So it's about integrating them into the group and making them feel as comfortable as possible and I think we've all done that. 'They know what's coming with the Premier League and the games and how difficult it is now; what they've done in the Premier League already, the amount of goals they've scored, the amount of assists they've created, that's exactly what we need. 'We're working together to try and improve that because last season we didn't hit those goals or assists as much as we could have done.' Mount has had an injury-plagued two years since joining United from Chelsea for £60m in 2023, making just 46 appearances and scoring four goals. But he was a regular after returning from a three-and-a-half month lay-off at Nottingham Forest at the start of April, rewarding Amorim's faith in him. 'He's definitely given that confidence to me from the first day he came in, speaking to me, and I know what he wants, and I feel like I know how he wants the team to play,' added Mount. 'So, yeah, it's been brilliant and definitely having the manager's confidence in me to go out there and perform, it definitely helps as a player. 'At the end of last season, obviously getting back and feeling really, really good, playing some games and having some goals and getting back involved in the goals was obviously very important for me. 'Still, obviously, I want to kick on and we want to do that as a team. So, it was a positive end for me at the end of the season to get back and play some games. But, yeah, want to push on for more now.' Mount scored three goals towards the end of the season and also picked up three yellow cards in his desperation to make up for lost time. 'I was getting far too many yellow cards for my liking! I think I've always had that in me. It's just when you're at the end of last season and I was coming back. At the beginning I was obviously not starting games. I was watching games and when you have that opportunity to come into the game, you want to have an impact and you want to get straight into the action. You want to do something. I got too many yellow cards and I had too many fouls.' Mount has been taking extra care to try and stay fit as he looks for a sustained run of games. 'Yeah, we've definitely looked at it in more detail,' he said. 'The small things matter massively in this day and age and in football now. 'When you've had small setbacks, it's about how you correct that and how you push on, and I think we've done that. We've looked at it and looked at why, and I feel we're in a really, really good place now going into this season. 'I had a good off-season and rested. I think that was probably one of the most important things, to take the rest. I slowly built up some sessions in the off-season, and that was from the staff here. 'They give us a little schedule to work off and just build up on our training. The first message was to rest for the first week or so and then build up and be ready because when we come back to pre-season, we know it's going to be kicking on and trying to get to the levels as quick as possible because we've got games here (in the US) and we've had a game already (against Leeds in Stockholm). 'It can't be a slow progression. We've got to try and kick on and get to the levels as quick as we can because, as I said, this game's coming thick and fast and the next minute it'll be the first game of the season, so we have to be ready.'
