Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
Chido Obi’s stuttering start to his Willem II loan spell continued with another eight-minute cameo but it has helped him emerge as a big winner this time.
The loan spell at Willem II was always going to be challenging for Chido Obi as the Dutch team are one of the weakest teams in the division.
Furthermore, their striker is the only bright spot in their team, so it’s not even like Obi will get chances in the first XI due to it being a weak team.
However, after his latest eight-minute cameo in the 0-1 loss to Fortuna Sittard, Obi has emerged as a big winner, which bodes well for the rest of his loan spell.
Chido Obi receives major boost despite short cameo
Obi playing eight minutes in a game where his team barely created anything is not good news for him, but what happened around the game certainly is.
Willem II’s first-choice striker, Devid Haen, who has started all seven league games so far and scored thrice, finally had a poor game.
Haen finished the game as the lowest-rated outfielder of all 20 players, struggling to get into the game in either phase, attacking or defensive.
Chido Obi playing against Fulham U21
Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images
Haen still played the full 90 minutes, which hints that the manager could possibly be exploring a striker partnership with Obi instead of treating the Man Utd loanee as a backup to his first-choice striker.
If that is the case, it bodes really well for Obi, as he won’t even have to beat competition from Haen for more minutes, and a partnership could get Haen going again as well.
For Obi’s part, his eight-minute cameo was anonymous, as the opposition ran rings around Willem II and kept the strikers away from action. He didn’t complete a single pass, take a shot, or make a single defensive action.
The hope is that Obi gets to grow into games rather than be thrown into the deep end late on when his team is under the pump already.
Haen could use some help up top, and Obi, whose all-round game has grown immensely, could be the perfect addition to the XI.