When Manchester United signed Chido Obi in October 2024, he was regarded as one of the most exciting attacking prospects in English football.
His goalscoring record with Arsenal’s junior teams was extraordinary.
Obi broke Arsenal’s Under-18 scoring record in the 2023/24 season with 32 goals in 18 games, 28 of which came in the final nine matches.
He also posted some eye-catching numbers, scoring seven against Norwich, five against West Ham, and four apiece against Crystal Palace and Fulham.
Most memorable of all, though, he once scored 10 goals in a single match for Arsenal’s Under-16s against Liverpool in November 2023.
In all fairness, the Red Devils were securing a genuine goalscoring magnet, a player who, if everything fell into place, was tipped to become a Premier League defender’s worst nightmare.
The young Dane arrived at Carrington and promptly continued his fine scoring run. That form led former United head coach Ruben Amorim to call upon him during the second half of the 2024-25 season amid the club’s injury problems.
In 2025-26, however, the club chose not to use him with the senior side, preferring instead to let him develop at Carrington with the junior teams.
Yet his prolific 2025-26 campaign, which saw him score 20 goals across all competitions, coupled with clear improvements in hold-up play and pressing out of possession, showed he had outgrown academy football. A loan move was widely expected.
Initially, a switch to Bundesliga side FC Köln appeared likely, but no formal offer materialised.
Chido Obi joins Willem II on a season-long loan
Then, out of nowhere, a less familiar Dutch club stepped forward. Newly promoted Willem II, just back in the Eredivisie, tabled a season-long loan offer. INEOS quickly sanctioned the exit, hoping Obi would take the next step in his development in the Dutch top flight.
Instead, the 18-year-old has endured a nightmare loan spell in the Netherlands. Of the 900 minutes of league football available to Willem II players, Obi has been granted just 48, an unmistakably disappointing return.
He is making no meaningful progress, and the scraps of game time he has received in the last three league matches tell their own story:
- vs Sittard: 8 minutes
- vs Utrecht: 2 minutes
- vs Rotterdam: 9 minutes
Looking at Obi’s situation, warming the bench at Willem II, one wonders whether it would have been any different had he remained at United.
But with Benjamin Sesko injured, surely Obi might well have accumulated more minutes at Old Trafford than he is currently receiving at a struggling Dutch side.
Chido Obi’s move to Willem II should have carried strict conditions
Given that Willem II had only just been promoted and were far from an established top-flight outfit, INEOS ought to have attached clear conditions to the loan. Guaranteed game time, complete with a penalty clause for non-compliance, should have been non-negotiable.
Willem II should also have presented a convincing plan outlining how they intended to elevate Obi’s game. Instead, United agreed to the young striker’s loan exit without any such assurances.
As a result, the prospect’s development has stalled. The next few months risk being wasted. United may now feel compelled to recall him in January, and it would hardly surprise anyone if they then treated him much like Harry Amass, keeping him at the club yet denying him both a meaningful loan and regular senior minutes.
All in all, INEOS must urgently rethink the Obi situation, or risk seeing another exciting prospect fade into the same category of squandered talent.
Featured image Alex Livesey/Getty Images
1 comment
Don’t hold your breath, this ownership, stewardship and Board are next to NFL quality. Out of their depth and not the standard you would wish on Accrington Stanley.