Chido Obi is set to become the youngest Manchester United player to have ever started a Premier League match after he was named in Ruben Amorim’s line-up for the clash with Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday.
At 17 years and 156 days old, he is younger than Mason Greenwood was — 17 years and 233 days — when the former United forward started the team’s 2-0 home defeat to Cardiff City in 2019.
“We need to focus a lot on our young players. For me, it is not a massive game for Chido. I know it’s important for Chido, but I don’t want a lot of pressure on Chido,” Amorim told Sky Sports.
“He played really well in the minutes against Wolverhampton. I feel he is ready to cope with the demands of the Premier League.”
Amorim made several changes to his side ahead of the Europa League second leg against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
With an average age of 22 years and 270 days, United’s starting XI is the third-youngest any side has named for a Premier League match, behind Middlesbrough’s match against Fulham in May 2006 (20 years and 181 days) and Arsenal side for game against Portsmouth in May 2009 (22 years and 237 days).
The Denmark youth international joined United in October after he decided against signing a professional contract with Arsenal, who he had joined at the age of 14.
Obi’s arrival at Old Trafford was seen as a coup for the club after he famously scored 10 goals against Liverpool in a 14-3 win for the under-16s, and he scored 32 goals in 18 games for Arsenal’s U18s last season against players typically two or three years his senior.
The forward has made five appearances off the bench for United this season and impressed during a 52-minute appearance against Fulham in the FA Cup in March.
Obi has not played a part in United run to the Europa League semifinals as he is ineligible to play for the club in this year’s competition.
United added other players to their Europa League squad ahead of Obi for the knockout rounds, which began with their round-of-16 victory over Real Sociedad.
Obi was overlooked, a source told ESPN, because he was not considered a first-team player at the time.
Manchester United starting XI to face Brentford:
Altay Bayindir, Patrick Dorgu, Matthijs de Ligt, Tyler Fredricson, Luke Shaw, Harry Amass, Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount, Alejandro Garnacho, Chido Obi.
Information from ESPN’s Global Sports Research contributed to this report
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