Record-breaking Man Utd youngster signs first professional contract | OneFootball

Manchester United's prodigious academy forward Chido Obi-Martin marked the signing of his first professional contract by becoming the all-time leading scorer in the U18 Premier League.

Obi-Martin was always expected to put pen to paper on a senior deal when he turned 17, the earliest any player can become a professional. The Danish teenager hit that significant milestone on Friday and opened the scoring for United's Under-18s in a 3-0 victory over Stoke City on Saturday.

A boy in a man's body, the 6'2 centre-forward has been in blistering form since leaving Arsenal's youth setup to join Manchester United in October. Obi-Martin rattled in a 14-minute hat-trick on his home debut for the young Red Devils. Goals against Everton and his most-recent penalty against Stoke took the youngster's personal tally to a record-breaking 37 goals in 23 U18 Premier League appearances.

Stacking up a mountain of goals at youth-team level is not always a precursor to a prolific career at senior level. Alan Shearer, the Premier League's all-time top scorer, held a similar record for England's U21 for years. However, he shared that high watermark with the rather less successful Francis Jeffers.

Obi-Martin surpassed Ellis Simms' record at U18 Premier League level. The former Everton forward was scarcely afforded any opportunities to replicate his scoring form for the senior team, amassing just 12 top-flight appearances for the Toffees before moving to second-tier Coventry City in 2023.

Much like Obi-Martin, Folarin Balogun came through Arsenal's youth teams. The prolific teenager stayed in north London until he was 21, enjoying a goal-laden loan spell with Reims before permanently joining Monaco the following year. While there have been some notable lows during his adaptation to France's top flight, memorably missing two penalties in the same 1-0 defeat to Nice last year, Balogun has averaged one goal every other game.

After taking the proactive step of baking a professional contract into the scholarship agreement which Obi-Martin signed earlier this year, United have made their desire to keep hold of the teenage phenom abundantly clear. When - if at all - he will be trusted at senior level, is another question entirely.