Chido Obi-Martin

Last updated

Chido Obi-Martin
Personal information
Full name Chidozie Obi-Martin [1]
Date of birth (2007-11-29) 29 November 2007 (age 17)
Place of birth Glostrup, Denmark [1]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) [1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Manchester United
Number 56
Youth career
KB
2022–2024 Arsenal
2024– Manchester United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2025– Manchester United 2 (0)
International career‡
2022–2023 Denmark U16 8 (4)
2023 England U16 2 (0)
2023–2024 Denmark U17 19 (12)
2024– Denmark U18 4 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2024 Cyprus
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:03, 22 February 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:03, 22 February 2025 (UTC)

Chidozie Obi-Martin (born 29 November 2007) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United.

Contents

Early life

Obi-Martin was born in Glostrup, a Copenhagen suburb, to Nigerian Igbo parents. [2]

Club career

Arsenal

Having started his career in Denmark with local side KB, Obi-Martin moved to England as a child, going on to join the academy of Arsenal at the age of fourteen. [3] [4] He progressed through the club's youth ranks, establishing himself as a prolific goal-scorer, and was promoted to the under-18 side at the age of fifteen. In his first start for the under-18 side, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win against Southampton on 23 September 2023, earning comparisons to Nigerian international striker Victor Osimhen in Danish media. [5]

The following month Obi-Martin made his first appearance for the club's under-21 side, while still fifteen. [6] He continued his meteoric rise at Arsenal in early November 2023, being called up by first-team manager Mikel Arteta to join the senior side for training. [7] Obi-Martin made international headlines on 18 November 2023, scoring ten goals as Arsenal beat Liverpool 14–3 at under-16 level. [8] [9] [10] On 27 April 2024, Obi-Martin made headlines once again, scoring seven goals for Arsenal in their 9–0 win against Norwich City, taking his tally up to 24 goals in his previous seven games for Arsenal's under-18s. [11] On 29 July 2024, Obi-Martin announced on his Instagram account his departure from Arsenal. [12]

Manchester United

Linked with a move to fellow Premier League club Manchester United in the summer of 2024, the deal was concluded at the end of September. [13] [14] The following month, Obi-Martin was named by English newspaper The Guardian as one of the best players born in 2007 worldwide. [15] On his first start, Obi-Martin scored a hat-trick in a 6–0 Under-18s win over Nottingham Forest. [16]

Obi-Martin was named in a senior squad for the first time on 16 February 2025, making his senior debut as a 90th minute substitute for Casemiro in a 1–0 league defeat at Tottenham Hotspur. [17] [18]

International career

Eligible to represent Denmark, Nigeria or England at international level, [19] Obi-Martin made five appearances in late 2022 for Denmark's under-16 team, before switching allegiance to England. [20] He represented England twice at under-16 level in February 2023, against Cyprus and Scotland. [21] However, in April of the same year he returned to the Danish under-16 team, scoring twice in three appearances. [4] His prolific goal-scoring form earned him a call-up to the Denmark under-17 team, and he started Denmark's 2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification campaign with two goals in his first three games. [22]

Career statistics

As of match played 2 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeague FA Cup EFL Cup EuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester United 2024–25 [23] Premier League 201000000030
Career total201000000030

    Honours

    References

    1. 1 2 3 Chido Obi-Martin at WorldFootball.net
    2. ↑ "Chido Obi-Martin: Who be di Nigerian Arsenal 'wonderkid' wey dey linked to Manchester United?". BBC News Pidgin . 31 July 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
    3. ↑ Stoltze, Maya (17 April 2022). "Britiske storklubber jagtede Danske Chido" [Big British clubs chased Danish Chido] (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 19 November 2023– via PressReader.
    4. 1 2 Jensen, Kenneth (23 March 2023). "Var med engelsk U-landshold: Nu vælger han Danmark" [Was with the English U-national team: Now he chooses Denmark]. tipsbladet.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 19 November 2023.
    5. ↑ Fuhr Nielsen, Mikkel (23 September 2023). "Purung dansker går målamok i stor Arsenal-sejr" [Young Dane goes on a scoring spree in big Arsenal win]. tipsbladet.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 19 November 2023.
    6. ↑ Bendix Søgaard, Malthe (30 October 2023). "15-årig Arsenal-dansker fik debut for storklubbens U21-hold" [15-year-old Arsenal Dane made his debut for the big club's U21 team]. campo.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 19 November 2023.
    7. ↑ "Arsenal call up 15-year-old wonderkid to first-team training". metro.co.uk. 7 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
    8. ↑ Stafford-Bloor, Sebastian (19 November 2023). "Chido Obi-Martin: Arsenal's 15-year-old who scored 10 against Liverpool Under-16s" . theathletic.com. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
    9. ↑ "Chido Obi-Martin: Arsenal youth player scores 10 goals for U16 side in 14-3 thrashing of Liverpool". skysports.com. 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
    10. ↑ Doyle, Joe (19 November 2023). "Who is Chido Obi-Martin? The Arsenal wonderkid who scored 10 goals against Liverpool". football.london. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
    11. ↑ "Arsenal teen sensation Chido Obi Martin, 16, scores seven to continue stunning form". telegraph.co.uk. 27 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
    12. ↑ "Confirmed: Arsenal Youngster Announces Exit with Man United Heavily Interested". OneFootball. 30 July 2024.
    13. ↑ "Chido Obi-Martin confirms Man United transfer from Arsenal". espn.co.uk. 5 October 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
    14. ↑ Railston, Steven (11 October 2024). "Manchester United make decision on Chido Obi-Martin after wonderkid's transfer from Arsenal". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
    15. ↑ Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (15 October 2024). "Next Generation 2024: 60 of the best young talents in world football". theguardian.com. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
    16. ↑ "U18s: United v Nottingham Forest". Manchester United F.C. 27 October 2024.
    17. ↑ Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United. ManUtd.com. 16 February 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
    18. ↑ Aarons, Ed (16 February 2025). "Spurs 1–0 Man Utd: Tottenham hold off Manchester United as Maddison return boosts Postecoglou". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
    19. ↑ "Chido Obi: The 'special' Man Utd academy striker makes debut". BBC Sport. 16 February 2025. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
    20. ↑ Kraglund, Christian (18 February 2023). "England hapser 15-årig dansk angriber for næsen af DBU" [England grabs 15-year-old Danish striker from DBU]. sport.tv2.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 19 November 2023.
    21. ↑ "Chido Obi-Martin Internationals". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
    22. ↑ Arvad Christensen, Rasmus (19 October 2023). "Fremtidig landsholdsstjerne? Stort dansk Arsenal-talent med to nye scoringer" [Future national team star? Great Danish Arsenal talent with two new scores]. indkast.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 19 November 2023.
    23. ↑ "Games played by Chido Obi-Martin in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
    24. ↑ "2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament". UEFA.com. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
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