Chido Obi-Martin has been compared to Wayne Rooney after emerging as one of Manchester United's top prospects
Manchester United's season rests on their Europa League second leg against Real Sociedad on Thursday night.
The Red Devils go into the tie with the scores level at 1-1 after Mikel Oyarzabal cancelled out Joshua Zirkzee's opener, and Ruben Amorim knows the team must go through to have any chance of winning silverware this season.
United have already gone out of the FA Cup after a penalty shootout defeat to Fulham in the fifth round to continue their turbulent season, but Amorim's players did show they were up for the fight after a spirited draw against Arsenal on Sunday.
As we build up to Thursday's massive game, Mirror Football has picked out some of the biggest Manchester United stories and gossip.
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Chido-Obi compared to Rooney
One shining light in Manchester United's dismal season has been the emergence of young striker Chido Obi-Martin.
The 17-year-old arrived from Arsenal last year and has pounced on his chance to shine amid the club's injury crisis.
His last appearance came against Fulham in the FA Cup, where he played the last 22 minutes of regular time and the whole of extra time - earning huge praise from pundits like Alan Shearer, who said he did more to trouble defender Calvin Bassey than Rasmus Hojlund did from the off.
Chris Sutton called Obi "an incredibly exciting prospect" at Old Trafford
Now Chris Sutton has joined the chorus of praise for the youngster, calling him "an incredibly exciting prospect" and saying he could go on to emulate the likes of Wayne Rooney.
He said in his Daily Mail column: "Obi isn't Rooney right now, of course, but you have to cope and opposing defenders often look at young players coming in thinking they can physically dominate them.
"Physically he does look like he is there and then he also looks explosive. He looks fearless to me. That's what you get from young players because he hasn't been part of this struggling team.
"I think Manchester United fans are looking for someone or something to cling on to right now and while we need to not go over the top given he is finding his feet, he is incredibly exciting as a prospect."
Eriksen admits pressure over Sociedad tie
If Manchester United fans are feeling nervous about Thursday's season-defining game, spare a thought for the players - who are attempting to deliver amid a backdrop of fan unrest, protests and uncertainty off the pitch.
The tie with Sociedad is very much in United's hands and the team will feel confident of getting the job done, especially after they took the lead in Spain and caused the Basque outfit problems, with their equaliser only coming from the penalty spot.
So with plenty at stake in terms of United's trophy hopes and dreams of qualifying for the Champions League next season, the Europa League is their only hope.
Christian Eriksen has admitted United players are feeling "pressure" ahead of their must-win tie against Real Sociedad
That pressure is not lost on Christian Eriksen, who says the squad are aware of the huge task in front of them.
"It’s massive," said Eriksen. "We know the pressure, we know the situation we are in. To get into Europe next season, we have to go through the Europa League, so we know there’s a lot of pressure on that game.
"But it also comes with being at this club. You play for trophies, so we have to play well to go through. It [Europe] is where we belong, but we don’t belong in the lower half of the Premier League either, so it’s a bit in between.
"Hopefully at the end of the season, when we look at the table, we end up higher and we’ll forget about this. But at the moment, we have to fight for it."
Zirkzee given brutal verdict by Koeman
While Zirkzee scored in the first leg against Sociedad and continues to gradually add to a small tally of goals across all competitions, he has largely not impressed since his £35million switch to United last summer.
Fans have vented their frustration at his lack of cutting edge and attacking instinct, with only three Premier League goals in total this season.
He started against Arsenal but again drew a blank in the top flight, with his last Premier League goal coming on December 1, when he netted a brace in a 4-0 win over Everton. His only other league goal came against Fulham on the opening day of the season.
Ronaldo Koeman has insisted Joshua Zirkzee is not good enough for his Netherlands squad at present
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And after his inconsistent displays for the Red Devils, his Dutch national team boss Ronald Koeman has delivered a crushing verdict on his performances, saying he was not playing well enough to be selected.
"He wasn’t in the preliminary selection because I don’t think he’s good enough at the moment," Koeman told Studio Voetbal (via Sport Witness). "Especially scanning when turning or passing often goes wrong.
"Yes, in principle form and fitness are always leading, but that is not always possible. We have a lot of central defenders and midfielders, but we are somewhat limited up front.
"But even then, I still think that you have to earn your selection, and I think he doesn’t deserve that now, but that could be the case again in another period.”
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