When Rasmus Hojlund was called to the sidelines after 67 minutes against Fulham in the FA Cup to swap for 17-year-old Chido Obi-Martin, there was a whole wing at Old Trafford who showed what they thought of another goalless game for the £72m striker. Two Danish players who switched places, one of them was praised by Ruben Amorim.
Because the U18 Premier League history’s all-time leading scorer immediately showed why he has been picked up from United’s U18 team. On Sunday, the teenager, with 21 minutes for the senior team spread over two games, showed he does not need many minutes of run-in to the world’s toughest league and cups.
Several times, the Danish striker came close to scoring his way into a hero role for Manchester United, both in extra time and extra time. For Hojlund, this would have been the total humiliation if the rookie had shown how “easy” it is to score, but Obi-Martin stayed away from the goal.
For the United supporters, it was sour, as the game was lost on penalties, but Ruben Amorim brought out Obi-Martin when he was to talk about the bright spots from the game.
-Chido, great movement, there is a lot to improve and he is a bit naïve (about not falling, when in extra time he had a duel with Fulham’s Bassey in the box), but the movements in the box – it was a good day for him. Not a good day for the team, but a very important day for Chido,” Amorim said according to the Manchester Evening News.
Ever since Obi-Martin as a 16-year-old opted out of further play at Arsenal and signed with United’s academy, we have used the label “United’s next big striker”. After Sunday’s “movements in the field”, the prediction has not been adjusted.
Rasmus Hojlund will have to watch the 17-year-old eat up his playing time for the next two months.
