Chido Obi plan agreed at Man Utd after rejecting offers and 'more likely' transfer outcome

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Manchester United are expected to send Chido Obi out on loan next season after making a 'conscious decision' to rebuff offers for the 18-year-old talent in January.

Obi joined United in September 2024 after two years at Arsenal and was fast-tracked into the club's first-team set-up as Ruben Amorim's side struggled in the final third. The Denmark youth international went on to make eight senior appearances last season, with one coming from the start.

But United opted last summer to reintegrate back him into the academy to further his development. As the Manchester Evening News revealed earlier this month, that plan was figured ahead of the 2025/26 campaign to shield the youngster from the limelight and put him as a central figure for the Under 18s and Under 21s.

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According to the Daily Mail , United stuck to that strategy during the January transfer window by declining to entertain loan proposals for Obi. The club believed he would gain greater benefit from refining his game beyond simply overpowering opponents physically in the U18s and U21s this season.

Whilst Obi is expected to remain United's key player in the U21s for the rest of the campaign, the Mail reports that a loan move is considered 'more likely' heading into the 2026/27 season.

Obi has been in superb form for United's youth sides this season, continuing his impressive scoring run by bagging FOUR goals for the U21s in a 4-1 victory at Leicester City on Monday.

Whilst United's first-team were occupied in Premier League action against Everton , Obi was lighting up the scoresheet for the U21s against Leicester, propelling the Reds to a fifth win in eight matches.

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There is a sense at United that keeping Obi within the U18s and U21s setup will serve him well in the long term, with Darren Fletcher selecting him as the first-choice No. 9 throughout the club's FA Youth Cup campaign. The Reds have progressed to the quarter-final of that tournament and will face either Sunderland or Brighton next month.

Reflecting on Obi's development back in September, United U21s coach Travis Binnion told the Manchester Evening News: "It's not easy for him because people look at him like he's a big kid.

"The key thing there is he's still very young, he's still learning his game. Because he's had exposure with the first-team, I think people expect performance levels that are really consistent and really high. You've got first-team players across the country who don't do that.

"The expectation on him is high, but he has to deliver the basics, and what he did from minute 30 to 80 when he came off is he pressed, he ran and he occupied two centre halves to give other players space on the pitch to exploit, which is why we dominated the ball.

"I'm really pleased with him and we haven't even scraped the top of the iceberg with him.

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.