Man Utd coach namechecks Hojlund, Zirkzee as he explains why Chido Obi was not registered for UEL

In his press conference before Thursday's Europa League round of 16 clash against Real Sociedad, Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim explained why Danish-born Nigerian forward Chido Obi was not registered for the knockout rounds of the competition.

The 17-year-old has spent the last few weeks training with the Red Devils' senior squad and has made his first appearances in the Premier League and FA Cup.

Having joined from Arsenal last summer, Obi does not meet the two-year requirement to be included in Manchester United's List B for the Europa League.

The List B consists of players born on or after 1 January 2003 and have since their 15th birthday, been eligible to play for Manchester United for any uninterrupted period of two years.

Another reason Obi won't be facing Real Sociedad is that he wasn't registered on List A at the time the squad was finalized on February 6.

When asked at the pre-match press conference to explain the omission of Obi, Ruben Amorim highlighted that Manchester United were in a completely different situation when the squad was to be submitted.

"It's a different context in that moment. Rasmus (Hojlund) and Josh (Zirkzee) was playing in the same position (as Chido Obi) so we try to manage all the things, even the expectations of the kids," Amorim was quoted as saying by the official website of Manchester United. 

"So it was that. The context was completely different and we choose different players (for the Europa League)."

Nigerian teenager Habeeb Ogunneye has been registered by Manchester United for the Europa League but was not among the eighteen players that travelled to Spain on Wednesday.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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