Why Chido Obi is not in Manchester United squad vs Lyon

Chido Obi is not in the Manchester United squad for their Europa League quarter-final first leg against Lyon on Thursday night. United travel to France in need of a positive result as they look to salvage their season and earn Champions League qualification by winning the tournament.

Ruben Amorim will have to select a side he trusts to get the job done, but will be without the injured Matthijs de Ligt, Ayden Heaven and Toby Collyer for the match. It means six senior stars will miss the clash in total, with Jonny Evans, Lisandro Martinez and Amad Diallo also sidelined through injury.

United are also without the services of teenage star Obi, even though he isn't injured. The 17-year-old has 14 goals in 14 appearances for the different youth teams this season, including a brace for the U21s against Nottingham Forest earlier in the week. However, he is not allowed to play for United in the Europa League this season.

Why Chido Obi is not in United squad to face Lyon

Chido Obi has already made four appearances for the Manchester United first team this season and was named on the bench for their Manchester derby clash with Man City last weekend. The 17-year-old is highly rated by club coaches as well as Ruben Amorim but won't be available for selection for the remainder of their current European campaign.

Obi was not registered as a United player when they submitted their initial squad list for the Europa League back in September and was not included in the revised squad list for the knockout stages. Every team left in the Europa League was permitted to register three new eligible A list players by 24:00 CET on Thursday 6 February.

United added January signings Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven to their squad for the remainder of the competition, but did not register Chido Obi as he was not considered a first-team option at that moment in time. Obi did not make his United debut until 16 February amid an ongoing injury crisis that left Amorim without nine senior players against Fulham.

Due to his age, it is easy to presume the 17-year-old could simply be added to the B-List that effectively allows an unlimited number of youngsters to be added to the squad before each matchday. However, Uefa rules state that only 'club-trained players born on or after 1 January 2003, who have been with their employers for an uninterrupted period of a minimum of two years, are allowed to be considered for selection' on the B-List. Obi is therefore not eligible to feature on the B-List due to the fact that he only joined the club from Arsenal last season.

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