Manchester United Academy striker Chido Obi earned his club debut at the end of Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

This season, the 17-year-old who has Nigerian heritage, joined from Tottenham’s north London rivals Arsenal last October, has shown promise for the team’s development teams and earned his first-team debut as United looked for a late equalizer in the capital.

Obi took Casemiro’s place in the first of three stoppage-time minutes at the end of the second half. Although United failed to score in the final minutes, the young player will be able to look back on today with pride because he became the 252nd Academy graduate to graduate from the club.

Due to the Dane’s goal-scoring prowess in Arsenal’s development ranks, fans were naturally excited when he arrived in Manchester last year.
The forward made an immediate impression by scoring a 15-minute hat-trick in his Under-18 debut against Nottingham Forest.

He has since increased his U18 Premier League total to five in six games and scored seven goals in our three FA Youth Cup games so far this season, including braces in victories over Coventry and Preston before achieving a third treble in this month’s victory over Chelsea at Leigh Sports Village in the fifth round.

Since the beginning of the year, Chido has also been able to get experience with our Under-21 team. He has played in Premier League 2 twice, including for the entire ninety minutes against Tottenham earlier this month.

With United’s senior ranks severely weakened due to recent injuries and illnesses, the 17-year-old was one of several young Reds to train with the first team in the lead-up to today’s match against Spurs’ senior squad. He was also included in the first-team squad for the first time as a member of a youthful-looking bench.