During the remaining stages of their Europa League campaign, Manchester United will be unable to utilise one of their most promising prospects from their youth program.
This week, the team coached by Ruben Amorim will make the trip to the Basque Country in order to compete against Real Sociedad, a team from La Liga, in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16.
Following their elimination from the FA Cup on Sunday, the Reds will be looking to get back on track with a successful performance on Thursday night before the tournament begins.
However, despite the fact that Chido Obi has been making a name for himself in recent weeks, he will not be participating in the UEFA competition because the seventeen-year-old forward was not included in their revised squad list.
The seventeen-year-old player, who made a strong performance against Fulham after taking Rasmus Hojlund’s place, was not included on the initial squad list that United submitted for the Europa League back in September.
Last month, when Amorim made the decision to include January signings Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven in his squad, he was also not included in the revised squad.
Chido Obi would go on to make his debut for United on February 16 against Spurs; however, despite the fact that he has been playing more with the first team, the Dane is unable to be included for the remainder of their Europa League campaign.
A player of his age would almost always be added to the B-List, which effectively enables an unlimited number of younger players to be added to the squad before each matchday. This is the case the majority of the time.
Only club-trained players who were born on or after January 1, 2003 and who have been with their employers for a continuous period of at least two years are eligible to be considered for selection on the B-List, as stipulated by the regulations of the European Union Football Association (UEFA).
It is common knowledge that Chido Obi did not join Manchester United until September, after the expiration of his schoolboy contract with Arsenal.
“A player may be registered on List B if he is born on or after January 1, 2003, and has, since his 15th birthday, been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years, or a total of three consecutive years, with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year.” This rule includes a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period of time that is not longer than one year.
“Players aged 16 may be registered on List B if they have been registered with the participating club for the previous two years without interruption.”
As was mentioned earlier, the youngster made an immediate impact after replacing Hojlund in the 68th minute of the match against Fulham. Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer were among the players who heaped praise on the youngster.
“What I really like about him is he’s put himself in some really good positions,” Rooney stated to reporters. “He has left a very remarkable impression on me. It appeared as though he was the thief who could go ahead and steal it.
Rooney continued by saying, “[He] was a little bit naive with some of his chances, but I think it’s really encouraging for Manchester United.” It is readily apparent that Zirkzee and Hojlund are not scoring for them. There is a possibility that this could be an additional choice moving forward in the season.
Another person who chimed in with a comment about Chido Obi was Alan Shearer, who stated, “He’s been a real handful in there, you know.” Without a doubt, he has been offered a great deal more than Hojlund has been when he was playing on the pitch. He’s been a pain to deal with and a challenge to compete against.
xz
