Manchester United striker Chido Obi will not be available as the Red Devils return to Premier League action against Nottingham Forest.
The 17-year-old striker found himself becoming a part of Ruben Amorim‘s goal-shy first team before the international break.
Rasmus Hojlund went on a 21-game goal drought before finding the net against Leicester, with Joshua Zirkzee managing just two in 20.
That lack of goalscoring threat has seen Amorim turn to former Arsenal starlet Obi following his outstanding record at youth level.
The youngster made four substitute appearances for United – two in February and two in March – but won’t play against Forest at all.
Why is Chido Obi is not playing against Nottingham Forest?
United decided to allow Chido Obi to return to the Under-18s for their crucial FA Youth Cup semi-final against Aston Villa on Monday.
He is a key man in Adam Lawrence’s youth squad but couldn’t stop United from going out of the competition on penalties.
Obi was left out of the U18s quarter-final away win over Arsenal following his promotion to Amorim’s senior set-up.
However, speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the match against Fulham, Amorim confirmed the highly-rated attacker had been allowed to feature in the tournament again.
“He is going to play [on Monday],” said Amorim. “So we are trying to manage everything, and Chido needs to play also, so we are helping the team and the player.
“We try to imagine next the game, we have to give minutes to the kid. It is also really important for our young kids to feel the energy of the game.
“We are trying to win that competition and trying to build something with the youth, so we are helping the team and the player.”
Obi first broke into Amorim’s matchday squad during the 1-0 loss to Tottenham in February.
He earned subsequent cameos against Everton, as well as the penalty shootout defeat to Fulham in the FA Cup.
Obi only joined Man United in October 2024 from Arsenal after failing to agree a new contract with the Gunners.
The Red Devils reportedly beat out two German teams to his signature thanks to their willingness to fast-track the forward into the first team picture.
Obi was a menace in front of goal for the Gunners’ Under-18 side last season, netting a whopping 32 goals in just 18 league fixtures.
He even bagged a seven-goal haul in a 9-0 victory against Norwich City in April 2024.
Thanks to his goal-scoring exploits, he beat Folarin Balogun‘s tally of 25 to become the record-holder for most goals scored by an Arsenal under-18’s player in a single season.
Obi didn’t have to wait long to make a positive impression at Carrington as he bagged a first-half hat-trick in his debut for United’s under-18’s against Nottingham Forest.
Former United defender Phil Jones recently claimed the teenage talent will be at the forefront of the team’s revival.
“Working in and around the academy and helping those young players develop, United have some really good and talented young players coming through,” Jones said on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast.
“The squad had a lot of injuries against Tottenham and the bench was full of kids, but there were some talented players on that bench.
“People might not know a lot about them now, but they certainly will in the next few years.
“I think you look at Kobbie Mainoo, top player, you look at Chido who we’ve just signed from Arsenal, who’s an animal.
“You look at Amad who had a couple of really good loans, and I remember watching him winning it against Liverpool in extra time last season, and I had said at that time he’d play a huge part in the next season.
“I played with Amad for a year or two and you could see then that the quality he had was really good and really strong.
“As I said there’s a great crop of young players ready to be given the chance and integrated into the team.”
