Manchester United fans were no doubt disappointed when they saw no Chido Obi-Martin in their Europa League knockout squad this week.
The young striker has become a part of Ruben Amorim‘s first team and has looked lively in a few appearances.
Rasmus Hojlund is now 18 games without a goal, while Joshua Zirkzee missed the final penalty in United’s FA Cup defeat to Fulham at the weekend.
Between the pair, they’ve managed 12 goals across all competitions, putting a lot of pressure on the other players in the squad to score.
That lack of goalscoring threat has seen Amorim turn to Obi-Martin because he has an outstanding record at youth level.
However, the 17-year-old can’t be called on in Europe, and there are a few reasons why.
Why can’t Chido Obi-Martin play in the Europa League?
When United initially named their team for the Europa League knockout stages, the striker had yet to make his first-team debut.
Therefore, he wasn’t considered for selection, and at that point, it made sense.
January recruits Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven have been included as they were deemed to be more first-team ready.
Since then, Obi-Martin has made three senior appearances for the Red Devils and impressed in the defeat to Fulham, coming close to a first goal on a couple of occasions.
Given he is just 17, there is a way for Obi-Martin to be on the so-called UEFA B List, but he doesn’t qualify for that.
This is because to be part of the UEFA B List and to be able to compete in European competition, a player must be at least 15 and have played uninterrupted for their club for two years.
Obi-Martin only joined Man United in October 2024 from Arsenal after failing to agree a new contract with the Gunners.
Instead, he moved to Old Trafford.
But because he has only been with the Red Devils for a few months, Obi-Martin cannot be part of the club’s B List squad.
This leaves Amorim with just Zirkzee and Hojlund as his strikers as he looks to win some silverware and get Man United into the Champions League.
Real Sociedad vs Man United: talkSPORT coverage
The first leg of this Europa League last-16 clash is set to take place on Thursday, March 6.
Kick-off at the Reale Arena is schedueld for 5:45pm UK time.
talkSPORT will have live coverage of the match, with Andy Goldstein serving as your host.
Commentary will then come from Jim Proudfoot and former Tottenham striker Darren Bent.
talkSPORT.com will also have updates throughout and all of the reaction after.
To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
