The amount of talent Manchester United have produced from their academy over the years has been astronomical. Of course, you can go as far back as the days of the Busby Babes, the start of the Premier League era, where the Class of ‘92 burst onto the scene, or more recently, when Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford flew the flag for the academy.
Nowadays, Kobbie Mainoo is the only academy graduate to have truly established himself in the first team. That, in many ways, is a sad reflection of the current state of the club, which once prided itself on homegrown stars.
Yet, a few academy players are on the fringes of the first-team squad, with one of the most prominent ones being Chido Obi.
Chido Obi’s Man United career so far
When the Red Devils secured the signing of Obi last summer following his departure from Arsenal, it was a move that piqued the interest of many. The 17-year-old joined United with a huge reputation in academy football.
His record at youth level is phenomenal. For United’s under-18s, he has 12 goals in 10 games, and for the under-21s, five goals in eight. During his time at Arsenal, the Denmark youth international bagged 32 goals in just 21 matches for the Gunners’ under-18s side.
With that record in mind, it was probably not a surprise that Obi made his first-team debut for United last season. Although he’s yet to play this season, the 17-year-old has already notched up eight appearances. He also scored twice for the first-team on their post-season tour at the end of 2024/25.
One man who knows a thing or two about being a top-level striker is Alan Shearer. The Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer was impressed with the youngster after his FA Cup efforts against Fulham last season. Shearer said, “I like what I see from Obi”, and described him as a “handful” for defenders.
Obi is certainly an exciting talent and another graduate of United’s academy. However, he is not the only top attacker coming through the ranks at Carrington.
Man Utd may have their next Wayne Rooney
Although under Ruben Amorim, the number of academy graduates involved in the first team has greatly decreased, there is still a pathway available. Obi’s rise through the ranks has certainly proved that.
Well, perhaps next on that path could be 17-year-old forward Amir Ibragimov. The versatile attacker can operate in midfield as a number eight, a number 10, and play on both flanks. He’s certainly left a big impression after his performances for the academy.
Ibragimov has an impressive record of 11 goals and nine assists in 33 games in the under-18s Premier League. The 2024/25 season was his first full campaign in the competition, and he chalked up 14 goals and assists in 22 games.
2022/23
5
1
2023/24
2
1
2024/25
22
14
2025/26
4
4
One of the biggest compliments paid to Ibragimov came from Mail journalists Nathan Salt and Isaan Khan. They compared the United youngster to one of their all-time greats, Wayne Rooney, due to “his vision and his ability to pick a pass in attack”, which is high praise indeed.
Of course, replicating what Rooney did in that famous Red shirt will not be easy. Yet, the 17-year-old has “dangerous” attacking ability, according to Antonio Mango, and can make a real impact in the final third, as his numbers show.
There could be a long way to go before we might see Ibragimov show similarities to Rooney in the first-team. But the way he has performed for the Red Devils’ academy certainly bodes well for the future.
Perhaps he can soon follow in Obi’s path and break into the senior side. If he is half as successful as Rooney was for United, Ibragimov will have had an impressive career.