Chido Obi and Harry Amass hail influence of Man Utd academy coaches, ‘he’s made me better…’

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Manchester United academy stars Chido Obi and Harry Amass took time to praise the coaches who have helped them on their way to becoming first-team debutants.

The biggest tradition celebrated at Manchester United is the development of youth players.

In recent years, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo have become the latest examples of players who came through the academy before becoming key players for the first team. Both players are still at the early stages of their development in the senior game, but they’re already considered among the most exciting players in the Premier League.

Ruben Amorim will hope to strengthen his squad in the summer, with Ineos putting emphasis on signing young players rather than stars of yesteryear.

The latest United debutants to emerge from the academy include Chido Obi, Harry Amass and Tyler Fredricson.

All three players will be hoping to make more appearances before the end of the season.

Chido Obi and Harry Amass pay tribute to Man Utd academy coaches

There is a feeling that Amorim will give plenty of minutes to youth players between now and the end of the season.

United are sitting in the bottom half of the table and there’s nothing left to play for domestically apart from pride. The focus has been shifted towards the Europa League after scheduling a semi-final tie with Athletic Bilbao.

Obi made his United debut in February against Tottenham Hotspur, while Amass got the nod for the first time exactly one month later when United travelled to Leicester City.

Amass started at left-back in United’s 1-0 defeat to Wolves on Sunday, but Fredricson also made his full debut, starting at centre-back.

These players will learn a lot from training with United’s first team but the experience they will gain from playing senior football cannot be matched.

Obi and Amass have heaped praise on United’s academy coaches for their help since joining the club, especially U21s lead coach Travis Binnion and U18s manager Adam Lawrence.

“Trav and Adam have been really helpful,” Obi told club media via ManUtd.com.

“Every time I needed help, I spoke to them or called them [and] they gave me advice. When I play games, they sometimes take me to a meeting to show me what to do better, so it’s good.”

Obi, who joined United in the summer, played for several academy age groups before earning his first-team chance.

Meanwhile, Amass has been at the club for an additional year, but he also owes a lot to Binnion and Lawrence.

“When I first signed it was about developing as a player and getting better, it was about enjoying my football, which I’ve done with all the trophies and experiences in the Academy,” Amass said.

“Then it was about playing first-team, being around it, getting a chance, and that’s come as well, so I think all the reasons I signed have happened.

“There’s loads of people [I’d want to thank] but I’d shout out to both of my two main coaches.

“Adam Lawrence, when I first joined, him being from down south, there was that connection straight away, he made sure I was settled and was always someone I could go to if I needed something. And as I got more comfortable, he helped me on the pitch. In that first season in U18s I really excelled and a big part of that was him, always making sure I was doing the right stuff.

“As I went to U21s football, I think Travis helped me a lot, working with me on stuff on and off the pitch, he was always on me for the right stuff and I think he’s made me better. I know they both care, so it means a lot.”

These quotes should be shown to any young players considering a move to United.

What’s next for Chido Obi and Harry Amass?

Manchester United have 5 games to play before the Premier League campaign comes to an end.

While it has been a turbulent campaign, Amorim is looking to take positives from the final games by giving more minutes to United’s exciting youth prospects.

Amass, Fredricson and Obi all featured against Wolves at the weekend.

United’s next game is against Bournemouth in the Premier League, but Amorim will have one eye on the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Athletic Bilbao the following week.

That means we could see more rotation and game time for Obi and Amass, maybe Fredricson too.