Chido Obi is pushing for his first senior start for Man United after making three appearances from the bench.
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Chido Obi's stock is rising.
Chido Obi's stock is rising.(Image: Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images.)
Manchester United Under-18s assistant boss Colin Little has revealed Chido Obi and his parents were informed of just "how quickly" the striker could find himself in the first-team squad at Old Trafford.
The youngster recently graduated to the first team at United and made his debut as a late substitute in a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last month. He has since made two further appearances from the bench.
Obi joined the club last year after his contract at former club Arsenal expired. The deal was considered something of a coup for United after the number of goals he had scored in the Gunners' youth ranks.
Despite not making his first start for the Under-18s until October, Obi, who marked it with a devastating 14-minute hat-trick in a 6-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest at Carrington, is already pushing for his first senior start for the club.
And U18s assistant chief Little has now outlined the conversation United staff had with Obi and his parents when he first joined the club, admitting they addressed just how fast he could progress.
"It has a very good impact," Little told MUTV, reflecting on how the striker's graduation to the first team has impacted the club's academy players. "That is our job, to get players over to the first team.
"I know he has not been here that long but he has shown that he can score goals and has shown what a good player he is. When they move over, it shows that it is possible to all the other lads, and it really is possible.
"You saw the bench the other night and it is close [the first team], and it happens very quickly sometimes. It wasn't that long ago we sat down with Chido and his parents talking to him about how quickly it can be that you can become a member of the squad, and an important member.
"It gives everyone a boost; it gives the staff and players a boost. This is what this club's about. It really is what makes this club special.
"When that happens, let's hope he comes on and gets a goal at the weekend or whatever and everyone's happy, aren't they? This is what we do here and that's what it feels like."