Phil Jones tips 17-year-old “animal” in Manchester United’s academy to have a “great career” | OneFootball

Former Manchester United defender Phil Jones has backed the highly-rated Chido Obi to have a stellar career at Old Trafford.

Widely considered to be one of the best talents in his age group, Chido Obi ditched Arsenal in the summer to seal a switch to United.

He has been prolific at youth level, plundering 12 goals in as many appearances so far. The Dane made his senior debut for the club on Sunday, coming on in added time as the Red Devils suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.

In his post-match presser, Ruben Amorim branded Chido Obi “clever” as he opened up on his decision to afford him some minutes from the bench.

Jones, who has been working with the United academy since retiring last year, is well-acquainted with Chido Obi and certainly well-positioned to offer an informed assessment of the young talent.

Speaking on the Footy Accumulators No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Jones also weighed in on United’s current woes, labelling the state of affairs as “sad.”

The former England international remarked, “Man United are in a really difficult moment, I think it’s been a progression of the last four or five years to get to where we are.”

“It’s sad to see. It’s difficult to see where we can improve it, where it can get better. It’s really difficult to talk about because I’m so fond of the club, I love the club, I love the people there, love the players, it’s really sad to see at the minute.”

“I think what I would say is working in and around the academy for the last two years, helping and watching those young players develop, United have some really good and talented young players coming through.”

“The squad had a lot of injuries against Tottenham and the bench was full of kids, but there were some talented players on that bench. People might not know a lot about them now but they certainly will in the next few years.”

Jones added, “I think you look at Kobbie Mainoo, top player, you look at Chido who we’ve just signed from Arsenal, who is an animal, I think he’s just turned 17, listen, he’s going to have a great career, albeit with the right mentality but I think he does.”

“You look at Amad who had a couple of really good loans, and I remember watching him winning it against Liverpool in extra time last season, and I had said at that time he’d play a huge part in the next season.”

“I played with Amad for a year or two and you could see then that the quality he had with manipulating the ball, committing players, one-vs-one situations, he was really good, really strong and a good kid as well.”

“I think they’ve got a good crop of young players who are ready to step in be integrated into the first team if and when called upon.”

United are back in action on Saturday when they face Everton at Goodison Park. Kick-off is at 12:30 GMT.

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