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Summer signing Chido Obi-Martin marked his first start for Manchester United’s Under-18s by bagging a brilliant hat-trick within the opening 15 minutes against Nottingham Forest.
United hosted Forest at Carrington on Saturday afternoon.
Obi-Martin is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in his age group and emerged as a top talent at Arsenal.
Last term, he managed a mind-boggling 32 goals in 24 appearances at youth level for the Gunners and even trained with the first team.
He once scored 10 goals in a single game against Liverpool for Arsenal’s Under-16s. The Gunners made several attempts to try and keep Obi-Martin at the Emirates but he turned them down in favour of signing for United
The teenager made his first appearance for United’s Under-18 side last week when he came on from the bench in a 4-3 win against Sunderland.
There was a lot of excitement when he was included in the starting XI for the meeting with Forest and he certainly didn’t disappoint the fans.
Our U18s starting XI is here 🫰🔴
You can watch the #U18PL game live on #MUTV, with kick-off at 12:00 BST 🔜#MUFC || #MUAcademy
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 26, 2024
Obi-Martin put the Red Devils ahead with just 13 seconds on the clock, pouncing on a poor back-pass before rounding the Forest goalkeeper and guiding the ball into the back of an empty net.
Four minutes later, Obi-Martin was at it again, this time drilling home a shot into the bottom corner after the visitors failed to clear their lines.
He completed his hat-trick at the quarter-hour mark, as he latched onto a superb cross from James Scanlon and produced an excellent finish from just outside the penalty area.
Chido Obi-Martin ⚽️⚽️⚽️
James Scanlon ⚽️
Amir Ibragimov ⚽️A dominant and clinical display so far — Watch our #U18PL second-half live on #MUTV 👇#MUFC || #MUAcademy
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 26, 2024
Earlier this week, it emerged that staff at Old Trafford expected Obi-Martin to make the jump to the Under-21 level in next to no time and he’s certainly proving them right.
Obi-Martin was substituted at half-time against Forest, but his memorable full debut for United is one he’ll undoubtedly never forget.
