Rúben Amorim told “breakout” Academy star is about to have “immeasurable” impact at Manchester United

Rúben Amorim has been told that a “breakout” Academy star may be about to have an “immeasurable” impact at Manchester United if he trusts the player.

Rúben Amorim’s tactical approach has come under scrutiny in recent weeks following a poor run of results in the Premier League.

While Manchester United have progressed in both the Europa League and FA Cup, their league form has been concerning, with eight defeats in 14 matches under the new head coach. Many believe the team are struggling to adapt to his 3-4-3 system.

A major issue has been United’s lack of goals. Despite creating 49 big chances in the league this season, they have missed 43 of them, with several attacking players enduring significant goal droughts.

The reasons behind this struggle have been widely debated. Some point to the rigidity of Amorim’s system, while others argue that the squad simply lacks the quality to convert opportunities.

Obi tipped for “immeasurable” impact

One small highlight from United’s recent loss against Tottenham Hotspur is that fans saw Academy striker Chido Obi, who has recently been named in a “breakout” XI for 2025, make his professional debut for the club, although he did not have a touch of the ball amid his few seconds on the field before the final whistle

“I would have liked to have seen him get 10 minutes,” former United player Rio Ferdinand said on a recent episode of his podcast.

“It’s not like we’ve got strikers on the pitch that are banging in goals left, right and centre and they’re going to walk off going, I’m on a hat-trick, oh there, you do that to me. These guys need help. He could have been that.”

Amorim named eight Academy players on the bench against Tottenham but he did not hand any other a debut bar Obi, explaining after the game that he wants to protect them from the pressures of the Premier League.

However, Ferdinand has explained he feels if the head coach was to allow Obi some time on the field to show what he can do, the 17-year-old could have an immeasurable impact on the dressing room due to the confidence and lack of scars that young players often bring.

“There’s two ways to look at it,” Ferdinand continued. “Now, I think Amorim and the coaching staff and the coaches at Man United are probably looking at confidence is low, the club’s in a bad state at the moment.

“If he comes in and plays too many minutes, he could be scarred by the effects of that and the impact of that as a young kid. We might lose him if it hurts him too much, right?

“But I look at it like this kid ain’t got no scars, he don’t care about what happened before, he’s thinking if I just hit the crossbar, if I score, is the lottery, but if I make the keeper work or I do one bit of thing that’s going to become a meme on social media, I am the guy and my confidence.

“And that kid’s confidence could reverberate around a changing room because the confidence is that low in that place that you might need that little kid to be the kickstart that you need. Because Amorim’s trying everything else, and it ain’t working right now.

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“This kid or one of those kids could be it. I’m not saying this kid’s a finished article, he’s nowhere near it. Just to clarify, none of these young kids on the bench the other day are anywhere near the finished article and they’ll tell you that themselves.

“But their enthusiasm and their lack of fear could be a plus point that’s immeasurable at the moment.”

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