Man Utd wonderkid Chido Obi-Martin asks for name to be changed as club grant request

Manchester United youngster Chido Obi-Martin wants to be referred to by a slightly different name going forward as he continues to impress at youth level.

The 17-year-old forward, who joined United in September following the expiration of his schoolboy deal at Arsenal, is widely regarded as one of the club's brightest prospects.

In fact, the Denmark under-17 international has been invited to train with the club's first team on several occasions under Ruben Amorim, who recently praised Obi-Martin's form.

After scoring a 13-minute hat-trick on his first start for their under-18's against Nottingham Forest, the teenager has hit headlines in recent months under his double-barrelled name.

But now, the player has asked for 'Martin' to be dropped from his name going forward, according to the Manchester Evening News, with United's official website also referring to him as ‘Chido Obi’.

Having scored a hat-trick against Chelsea under-18's on Wednesday, the teenage striker is currently averaging a goal every 35 minutes in the FA Youth Cup.

As a result, many have called on Ruben Amorim to give the youngster a chance as Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee continue to struggle in front of goal.

Asked about the prospect of giving Obi-Martin minutes in the first team, Amorim played down the idea.

"He’s doing his job, he’s improving, he’s playing in the youth teams, and we have also other players that can play in that position," the Portuguese head coach said.

"Rasmus [Hojlund] and Josh [Zirkzee] are there, we bought these two players, so we need to improve them and then sometimes the confidence can change a player."

Chido Obi has scored nine times in 11 games for United's youth team. Image credit: Getty

Amorim added: "We will see in the end of the season, but, until then, we have two strikers that can score goals. They proved it in the past. Let’s see if we can improve as a team, to help them to score goals."

United youth coach Adam Lawrence described Chido Obi as a "natural goalscorer" following his hat-trick against Chelsea this week.

“It was a really good night for both of the goalscorers [Obi-Martin and Scanlon]," he told MUTV. "I thought the two of them had really good performances on the whole aside from the goals. Obviously, Chido’s a natural goalscorer."

Lawrence added: “He wants to score goals and get himself into those positions, but I was really pleased with him just in terms of his link-up play — not just stretching and running in behind but recognising when to show into feet, how to use his body to shield the ball and when to bring others into play.”