Ruben Amorim has told Chido Obi to “be humble”
, the young Manchester United striker has revealed after making his fifth appearance for the club.
Seventeen-year-old Obi made his United debut on 16 February as a late substitute at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and has since come off the bench on a further four occasions for the Reds, most recently in Sunday’s defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
On that occasion, he was one of five Academy graduates to feature, with 2022 FA Youth Cup-winning pair Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo in attack, ahead of Obi’s youth-team team-mates Tyler Fredricson, making his debut, and Harry Amass.
Obi and Amass made their first-team bows exactly a month apart and watched their names go up on the wall in Carrington’s Graduate Lounge together.
Reflecting after the presentation on his experience so far as part of United’s senior squad, Obi explained Amorim’s key advice.
“He’s just told me to be humble and keep working hard every day,”
Chido said.
“And hopefully I get more opportunities soon. My Dad and my Mum always told me to be a good person and listen to my coaches because they want me to get better, so it’s good.
“I’ve learnt to be smart and to think quicker by training with the first team because the game is quicker compared to Academy football. It helps me a lot, training with them every day.”
Amass has been around the first-team squad for longer than Obi, having been regularly training with the seniors and occasionally involved in matchday squads for a year by the time his debut arrived.
He says that process taught him to be patient.
“It’s helped me grow as a person and as a player, but especially off the pitch, just growing up as a young lad and trying to turn into a man,” he said.
“Next is just to keep working hard, to show that people can trust me, to show I’m a good person off the pitch as well as a good player. To give my best, to try and play, and to get more minutes.”
After starting against Newcastle United and Wolves, Amass is certainly in a good position going into the back-end of the campaign.
He was a bright spark in our defeat to Wolves, as you can see in his match highlights here.