Man Utd exploring deal to sign Arsenal's record-breaking wonderkid Chido Obi-Martin after 16-year-old visits Carrington

According to The Athletic, United are exploring a deal to sign Obi-Martin and invited the 16-year-old to visit their Carrington training ground earlier this week. Discussions with his camp have begun but are not thought to be advanced just yet.

Obi-Martin decided to leave Arsenal, despite the Gunners proposing what they thought was a fair deal. Any club wishing to sign him, of which there are several - but not including Manchester City - would be offering scholarship terms. The youngster could sign a first professional contract at the end of November when he celebrates his 17th birthday.

The reason that Obi-Martin being on the market is a big deal is because of his astonishing achievements at youth level. In April, he scored seven times in a game against Norwich to take his tally for 2023-24 to 28 goals, the most by any player in Arsenal Under-18s history. At the point of smashing the record previously held by Folarin Balogun, the Dane had scored 25 times in his nine most recent outings. He finished on 29. Earlier in the campaign, Obi-Martin scored 10 goals in an Under-16 game against Liverpool, and was unsurprisingly bumped up an age group not long after.

Manchester United are showing the kind of ruthless ambition at both senior and youth level not seen since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. It appears to be the new way of thinking under the new sporting hierarchy and fans will demand that the club is always competing for the cream of the crop when it comes to nurturing talent for the next generation.