Ruben Amorim has encouraged teenage attacker Chido Obi to take Rasmus Hojlund’s position in the Manchester United team following his impressive cameo against Fulham.
The 17-year-old replaced Hojlund after 68 minutes of the fifth-round contest at Old Trafford, and he had three chances to win the game in normal and extra time. Obi shot twice wide before forcing Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno to save as the game approached penalties.
Obi was not called upon to take a penalty kick, with Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee’s efforts saved by Leno as Fulham advanced to the quarter-finals, but he left an impression with his performance.
The former Arsenal youth wasn’t substantially involved in the action, but he was in the perfect spot to create chances and made a bigger effect than the out-of-form Hojlund. The Danish player hasn’t scored in 18 games, dating back to December 12.
Obi has now replaced him as a substitute against Everton and Fulham, and when asked if he could replace the £72 million striker in the starting lineup, Amorim said the spot was up for grabs.
“Anything can happen in the next games, during training, we don’t have a lot of time to train but we need to see the opposition, feel the moment of the player physically, with a lot of games, because we are going to start playing Thursday-Sunday,” he told ESPN.
“Anything can happen, but I’ll concentrate on the next game and won’t replace the striker. I will simply select the best players to win the next match.”
Hojlund’s goal-scoring drought is one of United’s difficulties, which is why Obi may be given more opportunity to impress.
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