Godwill Kukonki sends message to Ruben Amorim after Man Utd call-up, Chido Obi-Martin responds

Godwill Kukonki has sent a message to Ruben Amorim after his Manchester United call-up, and Chido Obi-Martin has responded.

Manchester United suffered a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening in what was Ruben Amorim’s fourth match as manager.

This marked the Portuguese coach’s first loss since taking charge, following a draw against Ipswich Town and victories over Bodo/Glimt and Everton.

Despite the disappointing result, there were encouraging takeaways from the match, including an impressive performance by Leny Yoro.

The young centre-back came off the bench in the game to make his debut following a long-term injury, however, he was not the only talented defender who started on the bench.

16-year-old Godwill Kukonki was finally included in the squad after travelling with the first-team for several games beforehand.

Kukonki, who can play as a centre-back or at left-back, has impressed Amorim since he joined the club and his form for the Under-18s earned him the opportunity to train with the first-team.

After some absentees to the backline, including Lisandro Martínez and Luke Shaw, the new head coach put his trust in Kukonki to be included in the squad.

While he did not get onto the pitch, it was another important step for the Academy star who some coached have tipped to make history at United.

“He’s 16, but he impressed me a lot,” Amorim said. “It’s also a message to the young players that they can be there too.

“I think he’s ready to handle the demands of the Premier League. He’s very mature.”

Following on from this game, Kukonki reacted to being named on the first-team bench for the first time on his Instagram page.

“Valuable experience with the squad,” the teenager wrote. “Thanks to the manager and the staff for this opportunity. Thank God.”

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A post shared by Godwill (@kukonks3)

He included several images, including one of his no.87 shirt and some of him in the pre-match training drills. His Academy teammates flooded to respond.

Chido Obi-Martin commented on the post with a love-heart emoji, while summer signing Samuel Lusale joked, ‘Big time’.

Shea Lacey, Gabriele Biancheri and Ethan Wheatley were among the players to also send their congratulations to their teammate.

All of those players will be excited by Amorim’s comments while Kukonki could get included on the bench for the second time on the weekend against Nottingham Forest.

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