Chido Obi will play no part against former team Arsenal as he has been held back from Manchester United’s FA Youth Cup squad tonight.
The 17-year-old, who joined United from the Gunners in October, was recently promoted to Ruben Amorim’s first team following a season-ending injury to Amad Diallo.
He was handed his debut away to Tottenham and also got first team minutes in the 2-2 draw away to Everton.
Obi has been a revelation for the Under 18s in the Youth Cup this season, scoring seven goals in United’s three matches, but Mail Sport understands he has not travelled to London to face Arsenal due to being involved with the first team squad on Sunday against Fulham in the FA Cup.
It represents a major blow for United and boss Adam Lawrence, who hailed the Danish youngster’s quality following his hat-trick in the last round against Chelsea.
Now the attacking onus is going to fall at the feet of others such as James Scanlon, who scored a brace in the 5-1 win over Chelsea, and Gabriele Biancheri, who kickstarted United’s Youth Cup run with a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Coventry City.
Chido Obi will play no part against former team Arsenal in the FA Youth Cup quarter-final
Obi was recently promoted to Ruben Amorim’s first team squad and has played twice so far
The prolific striker joined United from Arsenal in October in what was a major coup for the club
There were question marks around Carrington all week as to whether Obi would have dispensation to feature for the U18s on Friday night, given the magnitude of the game, despite spending the week with Amorim and the first team.
He was an unused substitute on Wednesday night for the first team’s 3-2 win over Ipswich but club sources stressed the need to focus on Sunday’s game and the necessary preparation and recovery between Wednesday night and the match with Fulham.
Amorim and his staff have been impressed with the youngster since he stepped up to the first team and he is pushing for more minutes on Sunday.
‘I think if you see Chido playing sometimes every ball lost in the box, he is very clever,’ Amorim said of the teenager after he was handed his debut at Tottenham.
‘So I was trying to put one more player, because I felt the team was good during the game and I didn’t feel the need to change.
‘And Chido was that player – one long ball and he can make the difference.’
Manchester United declined to comment.
