Former Gunner Chido Martin Obi will be paid tens of thousands every week by Manchester United once he turns 17, according to a report.

The Athletic report that their sources claim former Arsenal academy striker Chido Martin Obi is set to be paid weekly wages in the tens of thousands once he turns 17 at the end of this month and signs a professional contract.

The same source suggests the player left Arsenal for United because he believed it gave him a better pathway to first-team football, but evidently the financial incentive was also there.

As for that pathway, things perhaps aren’t going quite as planned for the striker so far.

Over the summer, there had been some quite outlandish claims that Martin Obi was joining United to be their third-choice senior striker in 2024/25.

For a player who had never made an u21 start, that seemed improbable. A month into his time in Manchester, the 16-year-old has only made league appearances for the u18s.

The centre-forward did step up to the u21s for one game in the Premier League International Cup, but he was substituted at half-time, and his two subsequent appearances have been back with the u18s.

Part of that will be about his fitness levels. The teenager had to wait a while for his move to go through, and he couldn’t play any competitive matches during that period.

But the early signs don’t suggest a first-team debut is on the cards for this season. Progressing into the u21 team is more realistic, the same step he would have made if he’d stayed at Arsenal.