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Man Utd had to cope with an injury crisis that saw a youngster thrown into the first-team.
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim admits Chido Obi probably wasn't ready to be used in the first team last season. Obi made his debut as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur on 16 February and later became the youngest player to start a Premier League game for United when he was named in the line up against Brentford on 4 May.
The 17-year-old went on to make eight appearances across all competitions, but was ineligible to play in their Europa League campaign as he had not been registered in the squad. He was not eligible to be named on their B-List for European matches due to the fact he only joined from Arsenal at the end of September.
Despite his young age, Obi was effectively the back-up striker for the second half of the season, but lost that role when United refreshed their attack in the summer.
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Obi promotion came 'too soon'
Chido Obi netted his first senior goals with a brilliant brace for Manchester United in their 3-1 victory over Hong Kong in their post-season tour of Asia. He was also included in the squad for the US pre-season tour under Ruben Amorim, but has not been named in a senior matchday squad this season.
In a normal season, Obi would typically have featured in either the League Cup or European matches for United, but he has suffered from the reduced fixture schedule this campaign. Instead, he has netted four goals in 11 appearances at youth level, but could be promoted to the first team next month when other forwards are away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
"Yeah, of course, he played last year, I think it was too soon," Amorim said. "We didn't have a team that we can put a young kid with 16, that he will not struggle, or will struggle a little bit, was completely necessary to do that, the perfect conditions, we have the opportunity, and we seek that opportunity for the kids, so he's one of the guys, but I think he started too soon, and sometimes it's hard to deal with that, with the kids, because they think that I'm already here, no, you are here for necessity, and we need to be careful also with that, with the kids."
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