Denmark coach explains omission of Man Utd's Super Eagles-eligible striker from U21 squad

Denmark U21 coach Lars Knudsen has explained why Manchester United striker Chido Obi was omitted from the squad for the European Championship qualifiers against Austria and Belgium in October.

Born in Glostrup, he qualifies to play for the Super Eagles through his Nigerian father Prince Obi, but the Denmark Football Association are currently in pole position for his services, having capped him at U16, U17, U18, U20 and U21 levels.

After breaking into Manchester United's first team, Obi was swiftly promoted to Denmark's U21 setup, making his debut in a friendly against Poland in March 2025.

The 17-year-old has since earned three caps at that level, his most recent coming in last month's friendly against Norway.

Explaining Obi's omission from his latest squad, Knudsen highlighted the potential of the United forward and the areas where he must improve.

"Chido is working on some things at United in a purely sporting sense," Knudsen was quoted as saying by bold.dk.

"He starts sometimes inside, but also outside for the U21 team. We follow him closely and we see all his minutes.

"Among other things, he needs to participate a little more in team matters. He is a good goal scorer, but he scores a lot of the same type of goals, so there are some other types of goals he needs to build on.

"But he has some key skills and great potential."

Obi has yet to make his season debut for Manchester United's first team despite training with the squad during pre-season.

The former Arsenal schoolboy has scored three goals in five Premier League 2 appearances so far this season.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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