Man Utd youngster Chido Obi has exclusively played in academy games this season - here is the latest on his development.
Chido Obi retains huge potential.(Image: 2026 Manchester United FC)
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Chido Obi took selfies with young Manchester United fans at Old Trafford last week. The striker scored the decisive goal in a 2-1 victory after dropping down to play in the FA Youth Cup against Derby.
The teenager made his first Under-18 appearance in an on-record fixture for 11 months. United fastracked Obi after his arrival from Arsenal, and he made seven first-team appearances in the second half of last season, so it was interesting to see him be handed a start in a competition for U18s.
On the surface, it may seem like Obi has regressed, given he dropped down to play U18 football again, but his inclusion in the team to face Derby was a signal of intent from Darren Fletcher.
The Youth Cup is for players who are under 18 on August 31 of the current campaign. Obi celebrated his 18th birthday in November, making him eligible for the competition for a successive season.
Ultimately, there are two factors at play when United decide which academy fixtures a young player should feature in. The first, and most important, is whether it's best for the player to partake in that game. Will they learn from the experience? Will it aid their development? Those conversations take place among coaches.
The second consideration is the wider context. Will the team have a better chance of winning with said player? How will the team members complement each other? Is the team strong enough to compete?
United academy sources have maintained the development of individuals is more important than results, but football is about winning at the end of the day. And United want their young players to win.
Obi pictured after playing in the Youth Cup last week.(Image: 2026 James Gill - Danehouse)
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It's a balancing act for staff to decide which academy players should feature in specific competitions across the age groups, and it was decided that Obi should start against Derby. How much he learned from the experience is debatable, but he scored the decisive goal, which vindicated the decision.
The prestige of the Youth Cup was a factor in the decision to start Obi. United have won the competition more than any other club, and it's the pinnacle of academy football, which everyone wants to win.
Obi fired the U18s to the final four of the Youth Cup last season, scoring seven goals in just four matches, but he was marked out of the semi-finals by eventual winners Aston Villa.
Fletcher hopes his side can reach the final - and win it. The prospect of Obi and JJ Gabriel playing together in the competition is exciting, but there was a moment against Derby when they got in each other's way.
It will be interesting if Obi is involved with the U18s when they play Oxford in the next round of the Youth Cup. On paper, Gabriel alone could provide United with enough quality to progress to the quarter-finals.
It certainly won't do Obi any harm to help the U18s lift the Youth Cup this season, but his involvement does spark discussion about his development and what to expect in the next few years.
Obi played 52 minutes for the first-team against Fulham in the proper FA Cup in March last year. That was his first taste of playing in front of a full capacity at Old Trafford, but there were just over 2,000 fans within the ground to watch the youngsters take on Derby in the Youth Cup.
Obi and Gabriel are a force to be reckoned with in the Youth Cup.(Image: Manchester United)
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The truth is that Obi still needs time to develop. He was overexposed to senior football last term due to injuries, and staff agreed he needed to learn away from the spotlight in this campaign.
That might have been a hard pill to swallow for Obi, considering he became the youngest player to start a Premier League game for United against Brentford before excelling during the post-season tour.
Obi scored twice against Hong Kong, looking better than Rasmus Hojlund. The same comment had been made when Obi replaced Hojlund in the FA Cup defeat to Fulham a few months before that trip.
The youngster started against Leeds in Stockholm - Hojlund was named on the bench - in the opening pre-season friendly of the summer, but only started one game during the United States tour.
Since then, Obi has exclusively played in academy fixtures, and his only senior squad appearance came against Wolves, when the Premier League's worst side visited Old Trafford at the end of last month.
United fans were desperate to see more of Obi in the first-team after some encouraging, albeit green, performances, however, he has predominantly played for the U21s this term.
Obi has been challenged by senior opposition for the U21s, playing in the National League Cup and EFL Trophy, two competitions which pit academy players against senior teams. United academy coaches love those competitions because there is no place to hide against senior players.
Obi pictured during the USA tour last summer.
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The 18-year-old has continued to score, netting seven in 19 games, but his output has slightly dipped after a freakish first campaign at the club, and there is still more to work on.
Obi's decision-making and last ball in the final third need improvement, as does his work rate out of possession. United have felt academy fixtures are the best place for him to develop those aspects of his game.
In September, Travis Binnion told the Manchester Evening News: "It's not easy for him because people look at him like he's a big kid. The key thing there is he's still very young, he's still learning his game.
"Because he's had exposure with the first-team, I think people expect performance levels that are really consistent and really high. You've got first-team players across the country who don't do that.
"The expectation on him is high, but he has to deliver the basics, and what he did from minute 30 to 80 when he came off is he pressed, he ran and he occupied two centre halves to give other players space on the pitch to exploit, which is why we dominated the ball.
Chido Obi of Manchester United (Image: 2025 Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA)
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"I'm really pleased with him and we haven't even scraped the top of the iceberg with him. He's got loads to come. That will come from how he sees the game, keeps working hard and recognises he has stuff to develop because that's always a challenge when you have that first-team exposure and then you go away and have to start working on things."
Binnion continued: "When you score as many goals as he has throughout his relatively short life, you can define yourself by goals. And we all know there's probably only two or three strikers in the world who get two goals in every three games.
"If you're used to scoring two goals in every game, then recognising what the role is, how you have to go around it takes a little bit of time. He is dying to be a footballer.
"He is hungry. And he's still learning the game, learning how to project himself and learning how to play within a team, the club's shape and system, so there's still lots for him to do. The key is he wants to play, he wants to do well and wants to train. He could train every day if he could."
Obi hopes to return to the first-team by the end of the season. He's in safe hands to achieve that aim.