Manchester United proved their spirit is alive and well, even if the Premier League campaign isn’t, as they scared Brentford in a 4-3 loss.
Ruben Amorim made eight changes to the XI that beat Athletic away from home, a reflection of where the priorities for Man Utd lie this season.
A beneficiary of those changes was Chido Obi, who started in place of Rasmus Hojlund, his first in a Man Utd shirt after some good cameos.
MUTV pundit Sammy McIlroy dropped a valid verdict on his maiden start, with three words summing up what he’s about.
MUTV pundit on Chido Obi debut start for Man Utd
It is not often that a striker is left with any hiding place when he doesn’t score or assist despite his team scoring thrice but there were some mitigating circumstances for Obi.
For starters, Brentford are arguably the toughest team to debut against for a 17-year-old attacker, as they feast on lack of physicality and their footballing IQ is off the charts.
Those are the exact two departments any youngster struggles in and that was the case with Obi, as he huffed and puffed to no avail.
However, as the game went on, he grew into it and fashioned a couple of chances for himself through sheer will and trickery, which impressed McIlroy. His assessment of Obi as a “big, strong boy” sums up his current state – raw but full of potential.
McIlroy said: “He didn’t get a lot of service to show what we can do. You can see he’s a big, strong boy. He had a couple of little moments in the second half when he made room for himself to have a shot and stuff like that.
“So he is a big, strong boy, but I thought today, not a lot of service, not a lot of support for him as well. You can’t really judge him on that, but he will learn from that, no doubt about it.”
Obi is a genuine option next season
With so much noise surrounding Man Utd’s striker search next season, these Premier League games are the perfect opportunity for Obi.
Rasmus Hojlund will be saved for the two European games since Obi is ineligible and with Joshua Zirkzee’s injury, he’s the only alternative.
The glimpses of potential he’s shown so far prove that he can be a genuine first-team option next season despite Man Utd almost certainly buying a new striker.
A loan could actually set him back by uprooting him from the surroundings he’s settling nicely in, and his game is already beyond his age.
If his first goal for the club arrives in the league this season, then Amorim will have no choice but to factor the youngster into his thinking when planning for next season.
The “big, strong boy” of Man Utd has far too much potential for him not to.
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