Man Utd told they’ve signed ‘an animal’, with INEOS set to finally deliver

A former Manchester United star who still works at Carrington has told Sir Jim Ratcliffe he has signed ‘an animal’ who could soon be unleashed by Ruben Amorim.

Ratcliffe and INEOS have had a turbulent time since purchasing a 25 per cent stake in Man Utd, having brought down the club’s expenditure through controversial cuts while also being criticised for a number of costly mistakes of their own.

Some of INEOS’ cost-cutting measures include making over 200 United staff redundant and stopping payments to the Association of Former Manchester United players, which helps ex-players who are in need of financial or wellbeing support.

United fans have in turn slammed INEOS for raising ticket prices as well as wasting money by giving Erik ten Hag a new contract before sacking him just months later.

Plus, the jury remains out on several of Ratcliffe’s signings, such as Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Manuel Ugarte.

But the captures of exciting young players like 17-year-old striker Chido Obi could help to turn INEOS’ fortunes around.

Former defender Phil Jones, who now works as a coach for the club’s academy, has discussed the rising stars in United’s ranks and labelled Obi ‘an animal’.

“Working in and around the academy and helping those young players develop, United have some really good and talented young players coming through,” Jones said on Sam Allardyce’s No Tippy Tappy Football podcast.

“The squad had a lot of injuries against Tottenham and the bench was full of kids, but there were some talented players on that bench. People might not know a lot about them now, but they certainly will in the next few years. I think if you look at Kobbie Mainoo, top player…

“You look at Chido, who we’ve just signed from Arsenal, who’s an animal, you look at Amad, who had a couple of really good loans, and I remember watching him winning it against Liverpool in extra time last season and I had said at that time he’d play a huge part in the next season.

“I played with Amad and you could see his quality was really good and really strong. As I said there’s a great crop of young players ready to be given the chance and integrated into the team.”

Man Utd have sublime talent on their hands

Obi put up staggering numbers while in Arsenal’s academy but decided to leave last year in search of a better route into first-team football.

United subsequently snapped the highly rated teenager up. Obi has continued scoring in United’s youth ranks – 12 goals in nine U18s games, to be precise – while he was recently given his senior debut by Amorim.

Obi came off the bench for the latter stages of United’s 1-o defeat to Spurs on Sunday.

The Denmark U18 international did not have enough time to make a significant impact in that game, but it might not be long before he picks up more appearances under Amorim.

The Portuguese coach is not satisfied with current strikers Rasmus Hojlund and Zirkzee and could turn to Obi to help improve United’s threat in front of goal.

Obi might be right at the start of his career, though he is thought to have elite potential.

Landing Obi fitted in with INEOS’ strategy of signing some of the best young players around. 19-year-old Malian midfielder Sekou Kone has already joined United’s U21 squad, while 17-year-old Paraguayan left-back Diego Leon will arrive in the summer.

Much has been made of INEOS’ mistakes at United so far, but these youngsters going on to become top players for the club should gradually help to get fans back on board.

DON’T MISS: Man Utd agree terms with big summer signing, as expected transfer fee revealed

Man Utd transfers: Leeds raid shut down; cheaper striker option

Meanwhile, sources have told TEAMtalk that Leeds United are not planning a move for Hojlund, despite claims to the contrary.

Hojlund remains committed at Old Trafford and there is no indication that Man Utd are open to selling him.

Although, Hojlund is at risk of falling down the pecking order this summer, as Man Utd are in the market for a new centre-forward.

The Red Devils have identified £40m-rated Ipswich Town goalscorer Liam Delap as a cheaper alternative to Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Osimhen.

Chido Obi style of play

By Nathan Egerton – read the full profile here

Standing at 6ft 2in, Obi is an out-and-out striker who uses his strength and size to bully opposing centre-backs.

His tall frame makes him an aerial threat in both penalty boxes, and he is also blessed with electric pace and impressive dribbling skills.

The starlet is mainly renowned for his excellent finishing ability, and he shows composure beyond his years inside the penalty area.

He produced a broad range of finishes in the 2023-24 season, scoring long-range screamers, dinks over the goalkeeper and instinctive tap-ins.

The right-footed striker has been compared to Arsenal legend Thierry Henry and Newcastle’s Alexander Isak as he likes to cut in from the left flank before opening his body and firing into the far corner.

Obi is far from the finished article at this early stage of his career and still has areas that he needs to work on, including his link-up play.