Manchester United’s pre-season preparations are about to come to a head as Michael Carrick takes his side to Finland to take on Wrexham.
The World Cup has run its course, but now proper football is back, and Manchester United kick off pre-season this weekend against Wrexham in Helsinki.
Michael Carrick has a light squad set to face the world-famous Championship side, including plenty of academy faces to fill in for the 13 United players at the World Cup.
While the majority of the squad is ready and raring to go, Benjamin Sesko is absent from training, with his shin injury from May remaining an issue in the first week of pre-season.
This is a concern, although it does hand a youngster his lifeline to impress Carrick.
This is how Man United lined up vs Wrexham when the sides last met in 2023
Which of these Man United youngsters had the highest potential?
Chido Obi could benefit from Benjamin Sesko’s setback
While Sesko’s shin situation is a concern, chances are he just needs more time to build back up to full-training. But by him potentially missing the trip to Finland, it could hand Chido Obi a golden chance.
If Sesko was fit, Obi would be with the U21s in Germany, but instead, he was pictured in the senior group at Carrington in the build-up to facing Wrexham.
During the summer, Obi was tipped with a loan to Koln, which wouldn’t actually be a bad idea for his development, needing first-team football to reach the next level.
- Chido Obi at U21 level last season: 15 goals
- Chido Obi at U18 level last season: 5 goals
Obi had a pretty sensational 2025/26 for United at an U18 and U21 level, improving across all aspects of his game, but just didn’t get the chance to step up. He might fill in for Sesko this summer.
Carrick will have to give Obi a chance, as he made himself hard to ignore during the campaign, proving all the criticisms of his game wrong. Against Wrexham, he might not start with Bryan Mbeumo and Joshua Zirkzee both available and probably higher in Carrick’s thinking for the role.
But if Obi is on the plane, he should get a chance to prove himself to Carrick.
What is your INSTANT REACTION to Chido Obi’s 2025/26 season?
Ethan Wheatley also in with a chance for Manchester United
While Obi is probably the player many expect to step up, Ethan Wheatley is also training with the first-team and he will also have aspirations of staking a claim.
Wheatley was on loan during the 2025/26 campaign at both Northampton Town and Bradford City; for both, he was impressive and showed glimpses of becoming a really impressive forward.
Over the past two seasons, Wheatley has developed a lot while on loan despite the goals not quite coming for him, with all-around performances seeing him thrive in link-up play, with his movement really encouraging.
- Northampton: 25 games, 3 goals, 4 assists
- Bradford: 12 games, 0 goals, 0 assists
Wheatley deserves a chance this summer as well, as he is also likely facing another loan higher up the footballing pyramid, and therefore Carrick should cast his eyes over him before making a decision on what to do.
Obi and Wheatley will be fighting for the same share of minutes this weekend; whoever triumphs has a real chance of contributing further this summer.
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