Former Manchester United star Phil Jones believes Chido Obi can still have a breakthrough season at the club despite the arrival of Benjamin Sesko at Old Trafford.
Obi left Arsenal’s academy last year to join United, plundering goals at will at academy level having also been handed his senior debut by Ruben Amorim in February.
The 17-year-old made eight appearances for the first-team in all competitions last season and also featured in the club’s post-season tour of Asia, sparing their blushes with two goals in a comeback victory over the Hong Kong national team.
He featured again in United’s pre-season campaign but has not made the first-team squad this term.
United spent £200milion rebuilding their attack this summer with £74m signing Sesko the focal point of it. The 22-year-old has still not started a Premier League match however.
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After being dumped out of the Carabao Cup against Grimsby Town, United’s schedule is relatively light until January with just the Premier League to focus on. With opportunities perhaps limited even for more established names like Kobbie Mainoo, youngsters like Obi may have to be patient.
Having officially retiring from the game in 2024 aged just 31, Jones has been working with United’s Under-18 side the last two seasons while studying for his coaching badges.
Last season, he watched Obi ‘bullying’ the opposition at Under-18s level and believes there will be opportunities to make his mark on the first-team again this season.
With United deciding against sending Obi out on loan, Jones has urged the striker not to get frustrated with a lack of immediate chances and ‘stay professional’ even if it means another season playing at youth level.
‘I think Chido really has to knuckle down now with the position he is in now,’ Jones told Metro courtesy of FreeBets.com, the home of the best betting sites.
‘He is such a talented player, when I was working with the 18s I saw a lot of him, loads of him in games. When he was playing 18s football, it was men against boys. He was bullying people, it was so easy for him.
‘You could tell he was too good for that level. Then he went up to 21s and scored a few goals there too and ended up coming off the bench a few times for the first team.
‘I think he needs to understand where he is at in his head and figure out what his realistic expectations are.
‘Is he going to play every game? No. Is he going be on the bench every game? No. But what he needs to do is make sure that when he is called upon, and there will be times he is called upon and he will get chances, that he is ready and happy.
‘He has to be professional and be ready because if he is they will have one hell of a player. ‘