Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has admitted he made a mistake when selecting academy striker Chido Obi to feature in first-team games last season.
Ruben Amorim has admitted he was too quick to include Manchester United starlet Chido Obi in his first-team squad last season. The Red Devils manager doesn’t believe his team was able to help the teenager who has struggled with adversity.
United finished 15th in the Premier League last season and have struggled to pick up three points since Amorim took over as manager a year ago. Obi has been given a number of chances as the Portuguese manager searches for answers to turn the club’s fortunes around.
The Danish forward signed from Premier League rivals Arsenal and started his career in the youth ranks, scoring 12 goals in 10 games for the Under-18s. He also played in 16 games for the U-21 national team, scoring 6 goals.
This allowed Obi to play eight games under Amorim and gain recognition in the first team. However, the striker has not featured since the last game of last season against Fulham.
Amorim believes that Obi was not given the right environment to grow last season. “He played last year too, but I think it was too early,” he said.
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“We didn’t have a team that could put a 16-year-old boy in there without giving him a hard time.
“He’s one of the better players, but he started too early. Sometimes it’s hard for kids to deal with that because they think, ‘I’m already here.’ We have to be careful about that.”
Obi’s youth teammate Shea Lacey is said to be in contention for a first-team role. United expect to turn to the academy if they lose players at AFCON later this year.
Lacey could be selected in United’s squad to face Everton. The attacker has scored three goals and provided two assists for the Under-21s this season.
Amorim has been impressed with what he has seen so far, but the Portuguese coach was cautious about his assessment of the 18-year-old.
“I’m really happy for him. He has a lot of talent, but when he comes here you can feel that the speed is completely different. So they need to spend more time with us and prepare because our training is hard.”
“The pressure is more intense in Premier League games, so you have to be ready.”
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