Ruben Amorim has been warned about pushing Chido Obi into the team at Manchester United ahead of other players.
Manchester United have had a really difficult campaign and one of the biggest problems has been the lack of goalscoring success for certain players.
Rasmus Højlund and Alejandro Garnacho are both on long goalless runs. That form, coupled with injuries to other players, has led Ruben Amorim to promoting Chido Obi.
Obi, 17, joined the club in the summer from Arsenal and has been excelling in the youth teams since then.
The young striker made his debut last month against Tottenham Hotspur and has since made further appearances against Everton and Fulham.
United fans are calling for him to start in the Premier League clash against his former side Arsenal on Sunday and Amorim refused to rule out that possibility.
Amorim told to ignore fanfare amid Obi warning
Despite all of the excitement around Obi’s potential involvement, ex-United striker Frank Stapleton has told Amorim to ignore the fanfare and be careful with the young striker.
Stapleton believes that pushing Obi into a struggling team could end up doing more harm than good even though he’s good enough to be in the squad currently.
“He needs help getting his game to where it needs to be and the big worry for me is that when you put young players into struggling teams, then they usually go backwards rather than forwards and that worries me,” the 68-year-old told Betfred TV.
“I think it’s a matter of having to play him because of the lack of numbers. I think this boy has great potential, but it’s a bit early.
“I know some people say it’s got nothing to do with age, it’s about whether you’re good enough to go into the team and I do believe he’s good enough, but he’s not the finished article yet.”
Only one concern for Obi in first-team
Despite the struggles in the first-team right now, there might not be a better time for a youngster to be involved.
There is very little to play for in the Premier League right now, which means that the pressures of potentially making a mistake will not cost United the title or Champions League football.
Fans will be a lot more forgiving of any mistakes while also propping up any youngsters who perform well in games.
However, the only real concern for Obi–ironically–is if he starts scoring goals. Should that happen, there may become an external pressure to keep him in the first-team even when players are back or new signings are made in the summer.
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Even if the 17-year-old does start to impress when afforded some chances to start games, that shouldn’t mean that he becomes an option that United rely on.
Whether it is a loan, back into the Academy or a less involved first-team role, the Reds will need to adjust Obi’s situation after the season ends. Although, as mentioned, that’s harder if he starts banging in Premier League goals.
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