“Next level…” Chido Obi Martin’s prediction comes true amid Manchester United debut calls

Chido Obi Martin has been impressing in Manchester United’s youth sides since he joined the club from Arsenal earlier this season.

Manchester United secured the signing of Chido Obi Martin shortly after the summer transfer window after the teenager rejected an offer to stay at Arsenal.

The highly-rated young striker decided to join United, despite being offered a more lucrative financial package from Bundesliga clubs.

Obi Martin immediately impressed at his new club, scoring a hat-trick within 14 minutes on his first start for the Under-18s.

He is a ruthless goalscorer at youth level and has the physical build which suggests he will be able to adapt to higher levels of football.

Towards the start of his time at Old Trafford, it did seem like the young forward would need to refine his general play but he was building his fitness after not going through a pre-season in the summer.

Obi Martin’s prediction comes true

That is exactly what has happened in recent months, with Obi Martin’s game now showing a much better ability to receive the ball with his back to goal and link play with his teammates.

He played for the Under-21s earlier this week in a 3-1 defeat to FC Nordsjælland but impressed with his performance and grabbed United’s only goal with a clinical finish. Promising midfielder Sekou Kone also started in that clash.

Speaking earlier this season, Ryan Hopper, a personal coach for many top level professional and Academy players, detailed his first session with Obi Martin.

Hopper explained that the 17-year-old told him that he did not feel sharp at the time, and that extra work behind-the-scenes would help him reach “the next level”.

“Straight away within five minutes I knew [he’s got it], straight away,” Hopper, also known as RH Elite Coaching, told Stretford Paddock.

“After the session, what surprised me the most is that he said he felt rusty, he said ‘I felt rusty, I’ve been out for a while’, I think he hadn’t played properly in a good while.

“He said, ‘the more of this type of intense, technical repetition, I think it could take me to the next level’.

“So for him to identify that, what I seen wasn’t him at full capacity. I was thinking what levels he could get to then. The output and variation is there for everyone to see.”

Calls for Obi Martin debut this season

That prediction from United’s young striker has certainly come true, as he has looked to greatly improve his performances with more game-time and training.

His impressive performances in the Academy have coincided with the first-team’s struggles for goals. Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee are failing to take their chances upfront.

Obi Martin is already receiving calls for a debut from some fans, and while it may be a slightly premature idea right now, it would not be surprising to see before the end of the season.

Many of United’s young talent need to improve physically before making the step towards first-team football but the 17-year-old is ahead of his peers in that aspect.

Should he continue to impress in the second half of this campaign, Obi Martin could end up making a debut for Ruben Amorim’s side before the season concludes.

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