Chido Obi ineligible for Manchester United in Europa League after triple squad change | OneFootball

Prolific teenage striker unable to play in competition in huge blow to Ruben Amorim

Manchester United will be unable to call upon Chido Obi for the remainder of their Europa League campaign this season, reports claim.

The prolific teenage striker has been promoted into a first-team role at Old Trafford in recent weeks amid an ongoing injury crisis and the well-documented struggles of senior forwards Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, who have still scored just five Premier League goals between them this season.

Obi has continued his sensational scoring run at youth level since leaving Arsenal for United last year and, after hitting another hat-trick in the FA Youth Cup against Chelsea, was recently called up to train with the first team before being included on the bench for each of the last four matches across all competitions, making cameos in the top-flight against both Tottenham - his senior club debut - and Everton.

After remaining an unused substitute for the 3-2 win over Ipswich, Obi was omitted from Adam Lawrence’s Under-18s group for an FA Youth Cup quarter-final tie away at former club Arsenal on Friday night, instead making the senior squad once more and again coming on against Fulham in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Obi delivered a much brighter display than that of the struggling Hojlund after replacing his fellow Dane with just over 20 minutes of normal time remaining of a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford as he had three strong chances to score and was denied a potential extra-time winner only by a superb save form Bernd Leno, who went on to save consecutive shootout penalties from Victor Lindelof and Zirkzee as the holders crashed out 4-3 on spot-kicks in the fifth round.

Obi’s continued ascension combined with the ongoing struggles of Hojlund, who has now not scored in 18 consecutive matches across all competitions for United since his Europa League brace against Viktoria Plzen in December and has only seven strikes in 35 total appearances this term, two in the league, has led to increasing calls from fans for the former to be handed a first senior start up front.

Manager Ruben Amorim appeared to leave the door open to such a possibility on Sunday amid a hectic fixture list, telling reporters after the defeat by Fulham: “Anything can happen in the next games. During training, we don't have a lot of time to train, but we need to see the opposition, feel the moment of the player physically in this moment with a lot of games.

“Because we are going to start playing Thursday/Sunday, anything can happen. But I will focus on just the next game, you know, try and in that way, like I'm going to change the striker. No, I will choose the best players to win the next match.”

Some supporters wondered if Thursday night’s Europa League last-16 first-leg tie away in Spain against Real Sociedad could represent an ideal occasion for Obi’s first start, though it has now been widely reported that the 17-year-old is actually unable to feature both in that game and indeed in the rest of United’s campaign on the continent this season.

That is because Obi was apparently not included in United’s revised squad for the knockout stages submitted to UEFA last month before he had broken into the first team setup, having also not been on the list for the initial league phase after joining United in September when the competition was already underway.

Per multiple outlets including The Athletic, United could make three changes to their 25-player ‘List A’ squad before the February 6 deadline, with Marcus Rashford, Tyrell Malacia and Antony all leaving the club on loan.

Added in their place were January signing Patrick Dorgu, Obi’s fellow recruit from Arsenal Ayden Heaven, who made his senior United debut off the bench as an extra-time replacement for the injured Harry Maguire on Sunday, and Jack Fletcher, one of the twin sons of United first-team coach and former midfield stalwart Darren Fletcher who showed his quality with a brilliant opening goal in the FA Youth Cup on Friday night.

Not included in their ‘List A’ squad, Obi also crucially does not meet the necessary criteria to be included on ‘List B’, which is reserved for club-trained players born on or after January 1, 2003, who have been with their employers for an uninterrupted period of a minimum of two years.

Obi was born in 2007, but has only been with United for a period of months. Heaven does not meet the ‘List B’ criteria for the same reason after joining in January, likewise Fletcher who moved from Manchester City’s academy in 2023 along with twin brother Tyler.

The oft-criticised Hojlund and Zirkzee therefore remain the only forwards in United’s ‘List A’ squad along with Amad Diallo, who is expected to miss the rest of the season with ankle ligament damage suffered last month. Alejandro Garnacho, himself without a goal since November, is on ‘List B’.

Ineligible for the Europa League and with United now out of both domestic cup competitions, Obi can only continue to gain first-team minutes in the Premier League this season.

The Red Devils host his former club Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday before travelling to meet Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester ahead of the March international break, which is followed immediately by tough fixtures against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City.