Manchester United’s turbulent 2024/25 season is about to get even bleaker as they are set to be without Chido Obi-Martin during the Europa League season. The Red Devils are set to play Real Sociedad in the Round of 16 in the Europa League. As the club finds itself near the relegation zone, this tournament is the last chance for the club to play European football next season.
With Obi-Martin out of the Europa League campaign, Manchester United have another problem. The Red Devils have Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee as part of their attacking module, but both have misfired massively. Hence, they have decided to rely on their third striker in the squad, Obi-Martin, to solve their striker issue for the remainder of the season.
Chido Obi-Martin signed for Manchester United from Arsenal in the summer transfer window last year. He made three appearances for the club so far this season, with the recent one coming against Fulham in the FA Cup. Although he was unable to get on the scoresheet, he was involved in some good attacking plays and nearly was involved in United’s winner in stoppage time.
However, the 17-year-old is not eligible for European competitions. Although Manchester United added their January signings to the Europa League squad (Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven), Obi-Martin is not considered. According to the sources from ESPN, Obi-Martin was not considered a first-team player back then by the club management.
Moreover, Obi-Martin doesn’t belong to Manchester United’s B team. For that to happen, a player must complete a term of at least two years at the club. Hence, Amorim needs to organize a winning team without his teenage sensation while traveling to a hostile Real Sociedad. The fact that they played 120 minutes on Sunday and have an early kickoff on Thursday doesn’t make it a good reading.
Manchester United recently lost the FA Cup to Fulham on penalties. The Red Devils were the defending champions, beating Manchester City in the final last year to salvage Erik ten Hag’s regime at the club. However, they couldn’t repeat those heroics against Fulham, losing on penalties.
In the Premier League, they find it difficult to get out of the bottom half of the table. Their most formidable result was a 2-2 draw at Anfield against league leaders Liverpool. Moreover, they beat Manchester City at the Etihad 2-1 in the latter part of 2024. However, their results against the remainder of the teams have been subpar, as they are currently undergoing their worst Premier League season this century.
As Manchester United is set to be without Chido Obi-Martin, the attacking responsibilities fall on either Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee. Hojlund hasn’t scored a goal in 18 appearances for the club, and Ruben Amorim has hinted that he can’t trust the Danish player to lead the line. Without the teenage sensation, we can expect to see the Portuguese coach line up in a two-striker system to maximize how the team scores goals and gains an advantage in the away leg.
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