Chido Obi-Martin
Club: Manchester United U21
Nationality: Denmark (Nigeria)
Age: 17 (November 29, 2007)
Position: Centre-Forward
Preferred Foot: Right
Height: 188cm
Who is Chido Obi-Martin?
Since November 2023, Chidozie Obi-Martin has been one of these sensational wonderkids on everyone’s lips. From scoring an astonishing ten goals in one game for Arsenal by helping his side to win 14-3 against Liverpool U18, has the Danish teenage phenomenon made a name of himself as the next big thing!
From the age of 15, Chido Obi-Martin has trained with the first team and impressed pundits and coaches with his incredible skills, physic and natural instrict of scoring goals which has made him into a standout prospect to become a potential Premier League star!
Often being compared to Erling Haaland for his physic and natural abilities to score goals from all angles and ranges, Chido Obi-Martin has time and time again managed to take the next level – showcasing his professionalism and maturity.
Orginally a product of FC København, Chido Obi-Martin moved to the renown Hale End Academy at the age of 14. At Arsenal, the Danish wonderkid honed his skills together with Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly – two players who broke through in the Premier League 2024/25 season by earning 33 appearances combined.
At Arsenal Chido Obi-Martin ended the season by scoring 32 goals in 18 appearances for the U18s side.
Soon after, he became the protegé signing of INEOS’ Manchester United rebuilding project and went on to score another five goals in the U18 Premier League – making him breaking the all-time record of scoring the most goals in the league. With 37 goals over 24 appearances, he netted a goal at the incredible rate of 48 minutes per goal!
A month later, and the Danish goalscoring machine was featured as among the best players in the 2007 generation worldwide within The Guardian‘s annual Next Generation 2024 rankings, along with Ayyoub Bouaddi and Francesco Camarda, which we have previously written scout reports of.
Under the guidance of Ruben Amorim, Chido-Obi Martin has positioned himself into a first team candidate, especially after the absent of goals and consistent performances from Danish compatriot Emil Højlund, or Manchester United in overall, as the team has only managed to score 37 goals in 29 matches (accurate as of 17.03.2025).
Four months after making his move from London to Manchester, the Danish teenage sensation finally received his debut in the Premier League – entering the pitch in the 91th minute against Tottenham to try to get that important equaliser. As the only striker on the bench, it perfectly describes the current problems at Man Utd but also how the transfer could turn out to be the right pathway to become the next international superstar.
By entering the pitch against Tottenham, he became the third-ever youngest United player in Premier League, behind Angel Gomes and Shola Shoretire.
Since then, he has received two more appearances in the Premier League – revealing his status within the Manchester United ranks and his immense potential standing on the verge of his international breakthrough.
Although he represented the English youth national team in 2023, he has scored goals for fun for Denmark. Born in Glostrup of Nigerian descent, he has represented the U16, U17 and U18 Danish national teams.
His performances for the Danish Under-17 national team, and more specifically his brilliant performance against Norway U17, when he scored 4 goals in one match is a testament to his incredible abilities and goalscoring instinct. He ended his U17 career by scoring 12 goals over 19 appearances and was one of the reasons why Denmark went all the way to the semi-finals in the UEFA Under-17 Euro 2024 by playing as a lone-striker in a 4-3-3 system.
What’s Chido Obi-Martin’s Positional Abilities?
Chido Obi-Martin operates primarily as a centre-forward, typically deployed in a 4-3-3 formation during his time at Arsenal’s youth academy and now with Manchester United’s U18 squad, but can also operate as a winger or second striker.
His positional versatility allows him to adapt to various attacking roles, though he excels most as the focal point of the attack. His ability to adjust his positioning within the attacking third allows him to function in various tactical setups, making him an adaptable player for his team.
As a central striker, he positions himself in between the center-backs, using his physicality to create space and hold off defenders. While not the most agile in tight spaces, Obi-Martin excels when the ball is played into more expansive areas, giving him the chance to use his strength and speed.
He has also shown competence in dropping deeper to link play with midfielders, using his physicality and ball retention skills to hold up the ball, just like a ‘Deep-Lying Forward’ or ‘Target Forward’, although his link-up play is not his strongest trait.
Style of Play
Chido Obi-Martin’s style of play blends the traits of a traditional target man with the mobility and flair of a modern centre-forward. His physical stature and strength draw comparisons to Zlatan Ibrahimović, particularly in how he imposes himself on defenders and uses his body to create space. However, his agility, pace, and knack for finding the net also evoke parallels with clinical finishers like Harry Kane or even Alexander Isak, another Scandinavian talent with a similar blend of attributes at a young age.
Obi-Martin thrives in the penalty area as an instinctive poacher, often arriving at the right moment to finish moves. His ability to run in behind defenses with intelligent, darting movements complements his capacity to drop deep and facilitate play, making him a dual threat. He’s comfortable taking shots from tight angles or distance, showcasing a gambler’s mindset that prioritizes scoring above all else.
Obi-Martin is a direct, powerful attacker, preferring to rely on his athleticism and strength rather than intricate technical skills. While not the most agile in tight spaces, Obi-Martin excels when the ball is played into more expansive areas, giving him the chance to use his strength and speed to exploit space in behind and benefit from direct balls into the final third.
As a huge threat in the transitional phases, Obi-Martin’s style of play combines most of the great skills of Shim Mheuka and Francesco Camarda – making him the ‘special one’ within the Manchester United ranks.
Capable of both dropping deep to hold up the ball, turn and then carry the ball forward to drag opposing markers out of position, or receive the ball directly to minimize the attacking transition phase, Obi-Martin could be labelled as an Advanced Forward who got ‘everything’ you desire in a modern forward.
Combining physical power and quickness of the ground with determination to score goals and create chances for himself with, he can be an attack all on his own.
While predominantly right-footed, he’s shown flashes of ambidexterity that could develop further with time. His high work rate and pressing add a selfless dimension to his game, though his focus on personal tallies can occasionally disrupt his involvement in collective build-up play.
Regardless of whether he uses his bodyframe and excellent physic to shield the ball off the opponent’s reach, or directly run against the opposing defenders, he can be described as an all-round forward who has a huge desire to come to goalscoring opportunities.
Unlike many other forwards who are either really strong inside the penalty box, in aerial situations or excels with the ball at his feet, Chido Obi-Martin is simply phenomenal both with or without the ball – something you can learn more about in the section below, where we look closer at Obi-Martin’s greatest strengths.
What is Chido Obi-Martin’s Strengths?
Goal-Scoring Instinct
When profiling Chido-Obi Martin, it’s impossible to overlook his goalscoring records!
Obi-Martin is a prolific finisher, demonstrated by his record-breaking 32 goals in 18 U18 Premier League appearances for Arsenal last season, including standout performances like a 10-goal haul against Liverpool and a 7-goal outing against Norwich. His ability to position himself in dangerous areas and convert chances is exceptional for his age.
His incredible goal-scoring instict has been revealed on several occassions. Apart from scoring 10 and 7 goals a game, the striker has netted several hat-tricks throughout his short career. The last one coming on February 12th 2025 in the fifth round of FA Youth Cup 2024/25 match against Chelsea U18.
This resulted in him scoring the 7th goal in 3 matches in that tournament!
Looking closer at his ability to score goals, we identify something very interesting with the Danish wonderkid’s goal-scoring records.
Unlike Haaland and other brilliant strikers, Chido Obi-Martin has the ability to score goals from all ranges. Not one goal is similar to the other. Not the same body part is used to score the second, or third, goal of the game.
Suddenly he can sprint forward with the ball at his feet to move the ball into the final third before placing the ball along the ground and out of reach of the goalkeeper. Then, in the next event, he might position himself as a fox in the box, just waiting on the ball to arrive to confidently place the ball at the back of the net.
Later, you might experience his incredible vision and awareness, as he takes a first time shot from the edge of the penalty box, or use his aerial ability to beat the opposing marker at crosses into the box by heading the ball into the net.
What’s quite impressive is that despite being able to score goals from either foot, use his head or any necessary body part to try to score a goal, his accuracy when finishing makes him able to score from all ranges.
His clinical nature in front of goal is complemented by a variety of finishing techniques—dinks over keepers, shots from tight angles, and powerful strikes from distance. His shooting technique is reliable, particularly when presented with one-on-one situations – making him into a forward any team would desire to have in their ranks!
On top of that, he is composed not only within the penalty area, but can also be a trusted penalty taker. On a few occassions, he has also scored from direct freekicks and placed the ball confidently into the net by curving the ball over the wall.
Strength and Power
Standing at 6’2″, he uses his advanced frame to dominate defenders, shielding the ball effectively with upper-body strength and winning aerial duels.
Capable of using his physical abilities and quickness of the ground, he uses his strength and determination to get past his marker – something that draws comparison to Erling Haaland’s beast-like hunger for goals.
“When you look at ‘Chido’, he doesn’t look like someone who hasn’t turned 16 yet. First of all, he has the physique that is really advantageous as a football player. He is big and strong, but he is also reasonably agile. He is good at sticking to the game, but he is actually also good at challenging and dribbling himself.” “[…]
Right now, he is really dominant because of his physique, but I don’t think that is the only reason. “His greatest characteristic and challenge is that he really wants to score goals. When I say it can also be a disadvantage, I mean that he can sometimes play his own game. He is very searching for chances, where he forgets that you also have to play with the others.”
Jesper Mikkelsen, Danish Under-17 Manager
So far, his physic has helped the player to dominate against other youth players. Whether it is to use his physic to hold up the ball to wait for teammates to arrive from deep, or fend off opposing markers as he carries the ball into space, he brings another dimension to the team’s attacking play that few others are capable of.
Link-Up Play
His link-up play is also above average – showcasing a mix of great anticipation, balance, physical strength and decision-making on when to provide a back pass, when to turn and carry the ball or when to quickly make a progressive pass towards the wider areas in order to progress the ball into the final third and thereby free himself off his marker by sprinting forward to be on the receiving end of the cross or a perfectly weighted through ball.
With decent vision and awareness for his age, his football IQ and creativity has often resulted in a dangerous through ball and progressive pass from situations where he has received the ball between the lines and manage to find a teammate who sprints forward at the first opportunity.
In these situations, his vision and passing might draw similarities to other renown False 9’s and their ability to create chances from deep for their teammates by making key passes and assists.
Off the ball movement & Speed
Despite being physically imposing, Obi-Martin is deceptively quick over short distances, enabling him to burst into space behind defensive lines. His off the ball movement, acceleration and pace both on and off the ball, makes him able to make an instant impact to the team’s performances.
Although he lack the greatest flair, close control and agility, his runs and quickness of the mark has the potential to cause chaos in the opposing team’s back line by terrorizing the defenders with a huge variety of movements.
As a huge threat at counter-attacking situations, or to move the ball quickly from middle third into the attacking third, his work rate and desire to come into goalscoring opportunities are remarkable for his young age.
If you see Chido playing, he is clever with every ball lost in the box, so I wanted one more player.
“But I felt the team was good during the game and I didn’t need to change. Chido was that one player who could, with one long ball, make the difference.”
Ruben Amorim, after Tottenham vs Manchester United match
In terms of off-the-ball movement, Obi-Martin is adept at pulling defenders out of position, drifting into wider areas or making diagonal runs behind the defensive line to receive passes.
Additionally, his off-ball movement enables him to exploit spaces behind defenses, making him effective in transitional play. While not frequently utilized as a winger or secondary striker, his athletic profile suggests potential to adapt to wider roles if needed in the future.
BBC Sport‘s chief football news reporter, Simon Stone, summarize Chido Obi-Martin’s profile as; “He is tall, strong athletic – and rapid”.
Positioning
Chido Obi-Martin has an excellent positional awareness and knows when to make runs behind defenders or drop deep to link up play. This intelligence in his movement creates opportunities for himself and his teammates. At the same time, he is gifted at understanding where the ball might arrive and thereby position himself accordingly.
He has a natural instinct of finding small pocket of spaces both inside and outside the penalty box – freeing himself from his markers to receive the ball in dangerous positions.
His ability to pop up at the right place at the right time has often resulted in a great number of goals scored, whether he tries first time shots, shoots with power, tap the ball in from closer to the goal-line to placing the ball from the edge of the penalty box after holding the run and thereby lure the opposing defender.
Work Rate and Tenacity
Out of possession, he uses his physic, work rate, aggression and determination to be committed to pressing from the front, using his speed to harry defenders and goalkeepers when they are in possession.
With a tireless work ethic and a profile that suits the Pressing Forward, Chido Obi is no stranger to put pressure on the opposing defenders and give them limited time to think or find the best passing option. This is an admireable trait that suits any high-pressing side which might make it difficult for Manchester United to keep this amazing talent happy if their league position and finances doesn’t improve over the next couple of years.
Weaknesses
First Touch: At times, his first touch can be inconsistent, especially when receiving balls under pressure or in tight spaces, which can lead to lost possession or missed opportunities.
Technical Ability in Tight Spaces: While strong and direct, Obi-Martin’s dribbling and technical skills in confined spaces are not as sharp as other forwards. He can struggle when pressured in tight areas.
Passing and Link-Up Play: Though capable of holding the ball up, Obi-Martin is not always the most effective at combining with teammates in intricate passing moves. His passing range is limited, and he tends to rely more on direct balls or long passes.
Defensive Contribution: Though he does press from the front, his defensive work off the ball, particularly in tracking back or supporting full-backs, is limited. He is primarily focused on the attacking side of the game.
Chido Obi-Martin’s Player Profile in Football Manager 2024
Since Chido Obi-Martin was born at the end of November, he was a month too young to be featured in the Football Manager 2024 database. To get Chido Obi-Martin in Football Manager 2024 we have done our best to create Chido Obi-Martin’s player profile on FM24 according to his strenghts and weaknesses by downloading the FM24 NextGen wonderkids database. It gives you the chance to get over 800 new wonderkids in FM24 born in 2007, 2008, 2009 or 2010.
In collaboration with FM YouTuber FranklyFM84, he has taken a closer look at the player profile of Chido Obi-Martin on Football Manager 2024 and simulated his career 15 years into the future to see how he will develop, and how his football career might pan out.
In this video, you’ll get the chance to meet Obi-Martin on FM24 and discover how good he is on Football Manager.
Conclusion
Chido Obi-Martin is a physically dominant and intelligent forward who thrives on direct play, aerial duels, and finishing chances in the box. His strengths lie in his power, speed, and ability to score goals, with an innate ability to position himself effectively in dangerous areas. However, his technical limitations, particularly in tight spaces, passing, and link-up play, sometimes hinder his overall effectiveness. With the right support and a system built around his strengths, Obi-Martin can be a potent attacking force for any team.
Chido Obi-Martin possesses world-class potential, with a ceiling that could see him become a top-tier Premier League striker. His record-breaking exploits at youth level, combined with his debut hat-trick for Manchester United U18s against Nottingham Forest, signal a rare talent.
Potential Rating: 9.5/10
