Man United have just been eliminated from the FA Cup by Fulham in a penalty shootout in round 5. In this match, striker Rasmus Hojlund was still playing as badly as usual and was replaced by young talent Chido Obi Martin.
It was the third time the 17-year-old star has played in an official match of the first team. He has previously come on as a substitute in Premier League games against Tottenham and Everton. Hojlund and Zirkzee have only scored a total of 12 goals since the beginning of the season. Although Obi has not scored any goals, his playing style on the pitch is much brighter than Hojlund's. Therefore, the young Danish striker is expected to play in the Europa League arena.
However, Obi is not eligible to play in the Europa League. He arrived at Old Trafford after UEFA's Europa League player registration deadline had ended. Man United have submitted a maximum of 25 players in the "A-list", excluding Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho. These two young talents are eligible to be in the "Group B", these are players born on January 1, 2023 or later. In addition, they have played for Man United for at least 2 years since the age of 15.
Clubs that have not been eliminated are still allowed to change their squad for the knockout stage after the winter transfer window closes. However, they are only allowed to make 3 changes. Man United let Marcus Rashford, Tyrell Malacia and Antony go on loan in the winter transfer window, all of whom were initially registered in the Europa League squad. They have since added Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven, who arrived in the winter transfer window from Lecce and Arsenal. Jack Fletcher, the 17-year-old son of former midfielder Darren Fletcher, has also been added.
Despite his age, Fletcher is still not eligible to be in the "lingue B" because he just joined Manchester United from Manchester City in the summer of 2023, meaning he has not spent 2 years in the Old Trafford team. left-back Harry Amass, 17, who was named in Man United's "A List" at the start of the campaign, was in the same position after joining at the same time from Watford.
Unable to participate in the Europa League, Chido Obi Martin still participates in the Premier League or FA Cup normally due to more comfortable domestic registration rules. Premier League clubs are not required to register any players in their 25-man squad born on or after January 1, 2023 as they are classified as under-21s.
