Chido Obi-Martin to sign new Manchester United contract today

Manchester United wonderkid Chido Obi-Martin is set to sign his first professional contract today.

The teenage wonderkid celebrates his 17th birthday on Friday and there is extra reason to celebrate as it means he is now eligible to sign his first professional contract.

When United won the race to sign the highly-rated goal scorer in the summer, he was only allowed to sign scholarship terms because of his age. However, he will now be rewarded with a professional deal which will include a sizeable pay increase which he was unable to earn when he was legally classified as a schoolboy.

Obi-Martin has scored four goals for United U18s since he left Arsenal in the summer, though his professional contract was negotiated as part of the initial move to bring him to the club and is not a reaction to his encouraging start to life at the club.

United are still looking to carefully ease Obi-Martin into his new surroundings at such a young age and he is yet to complete 90 minutes for the club at any level. The 17-year-old scored a goal as he played 71 minutes in their 3-0 victory over Leeds at the weekend, but he remained an unused substitute as the U19s lost 2-1 to AZ Alkmaar in the Youth League on Tuesday afternoon.

Obi-Martin grabbed headlines last season when he scored 32 goals in 18 youth matches for Arsenal before he rejected a new contract offer at the North London club.