Harry Amass and Chido Obi-Martin appeared to hit back at Ruben Amorim on social media after the head coach criticised the Manchester United youngsters.
United welcome Bournemouth to Old Trafford on Monday night knowing that a win will move them into the top five.
But ahead of the Premier League clash, Amorim has landed himself in hot water after bizarrely and harshly criticising two of the club’s academy talents.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the Portuguese yet again defended his treatment of Kobbie Mainoo, claiming he had no issues with using young, homegrown players.
But then, he claimed that Amass, currently on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, and Obi-Martin, both of whom made their senior debuts last season under Amorim, were not performing well.
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‘Of course, he’s not playing so many games, but Kobbs, he had opportunities, especially last year. Everyone had,’ Amorim said.
‘Especially last year, everyone had. Amass is now struggling in the Championship. Chido is not always a starter in U21. All these guys played when a lot of people were saying, sack the manager.’
Amorim later called out another academy graduate in Toby Collyer, adding: ‘He’s from the academy, he played here, went to West Bromwich, he’s not playing. He played for Manchester United.’
It has been suggested that Amorim was not directly criticising Amass but rather referring to Wednesday as a whole, with the club rock bottom of the Championship having been given an 18-point deduction after going into administration.
In any case, it’s not gone down well, with the Manchester Evening News reporting that those in the academy said to be ‘disappointed’ with the comments.
Moreover, both Amass and Obi Martin appeared to respond to the remarks on Monday in now-deleted posts on their Instagram stories.
The former posted a picture of himself with his Sheffield Wednesday Player of the Month award for November, while the latter shared a photo of himself celebrating after scoring for the Red Devils youth side.
It has also been reported that other academy players, including Mainoo, have liked posts critiquing Amorim.
Left-back Amass, 18, has been an ever-present in Wednesday’s side, earning plenty of plaudits in spite of the Hillsborough club’s problems.
Striker Obi-Martin, 18, has been out of the United Under-21s line-up for the last few games but has five goals and two assists in his seven starts for the team.
Even the jab at Collyer seems unfair given that midfielder’s lack of minutes this season is mainly because of injuries, with West Brom boss Ryan Mason tipping the 21-year-old to come good in the second-half of the campaign.
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