Rúben Amorim has admitted that one of Manchester United’s current young stars made their senior debuts too early in their development.
Rúben Amorim is currently undertaking a complicated task at Manchester United amid their lack of European and Carabao Cup football so far this term.
While some players, such as Amad, Bryan Mbeumo, and Matthijs de Ligt, have thrived and played plenty of minutes in the Premier League, others, like Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee, have been relegated to a bit-part role, despite their talents.
As well, there has been almost no look-in for the club’s immense amount of Academy talent, with the likes of Shea Lacey and Jack Fletcher consistently training for the first-team but yet to make their debuts for the club.
This is a very different situation from the back end of last season, when Harry Amass, Chido Obi, and Tyler Fredricson all made their senior bouts in the Premier League amid the prioritisation of the Europa League run.
Amorim feels Obi made his debut too early
Obi signed for United from Arsenal as a 16-year-old not long before Amorim’s arrival last year, and made his debut in February. He went on to make eight appearances, including a Premier League start during a 4-3 loss against Brentford.
He also came off the bench against Fulham in the FA Cup and was fantastic in the second half and the extra 30 minutes after the sides were level at full-time, although Joshua Zirkzee’s miss saw United knocked out on penalties.
Despite performing well on the club’s post-season tour, Obi has had little look-in at the first team this season amid the lack of non-Premier League fixtures.
When questioned on the young striker ahead of the tie against Everton, Amorim admitted that he feels the 17-year-old may have made his debut for the club too early, but that there was little other choice amid injuries.
“Yeah, of course. He played last year, I think it was too soon,” Amorim replied when asked if Obi could be a player utilised once Amad and Mbeumo head to the African Cup of Nations.
“We didn’t have a team that we could put a young kid at 16 [into so much so that] he would not struggle, or he will [only] struggle a little bit. It was necessary to do that.
“The perfect conditions are we have the opportunity, and we seek that opportunity for the kid, so he is one of the guys, but I think he started too soon and it is sometimes difficult to deal with that with the kids.
“Because they think: ‘I am already here.’ No, you are here for necessity, and we need to be careful also with that, with the kids.”
Obi can develop in peace this season
As mentioned above, not being in either the Carabao Cup or any form of European competition has hurt Academy players’ chances of getting minutes. However, this could be a blessing in disguise for Obi.
After the teen star switched from Arsenal to Old Trafford, there was a lot of noise and hype surrounding the Danish striker, making it possibly the most well-covered Academy transfer of all time.
However, following no goals for the senior team after eight appearances despite incredible hat-tricks in the Academy, scrutiny came fast.
But with there not being too many first-team chances for Obi and other Academy players this term, the 17-year-old has quietly transitioned to the U21 squad, which regularly plays against senior League One and League Two sides, which will do wonders for his physical development.
The noise surrounding Obi has died down, allowing for more peace of mind and space to develop at Carrington, as well as improve his physical profile. As Amorim said, he may have made his debut too early, but he will almost certainly get another real shot once he develops further.
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