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A touch to control the ball, a second to get it out of his feet and another to score. Chido Obi managed to contribute more with just three touches in Manchester United's game against
Hong Kong than Rasmus Hojlund mustered in the 45 minutes of the first half. Ruben Amorim made wholesale changes at half-time and Obi replaced Hojlund. Obi is just 17, but he might take
Hojlund's role in the first-team squad permanently at this rate. It's damning for Hojlund that an inexperienced striker, someone who has been described as naive by his own manager,
genuinely looks like a bigger goal threat when he comes onto the pitch. Hojlund looked the same as always against Hong Kong: blunt. He didn't look convincing against the 153rd-ranked
national team in the world and took a few heavy touches in the box. It would be harsh and unfair to heavily scrutinise Hojlund's performance, given these post-season friendlies were
arranged at the end of a long campaign, but it certainly wasn't the first time that Obi had replaced him from the bench and looked more capable of finding the back of the net. Obi was
introduced for Hojlund on a few occasions in competitive games this season, and a clear pattern has emerged that suggests the Dane should be doing a lot more up front. There is no denying
that Obi is raw and still has bundles to learn, but his movement in the box is better than Hojlund's and he possesses a knack for goalscoring that his senior peer does not. Obi's
first goal against Hong Kong on Friday afternoon was instinctive, a proper centre-forward strike, and the kind of clinical finish that someone like Gary Lineker built a successful career on.
Then Obi scored another, finding the net with an outstanding header. Coaches can work with strikers for hours on the training ground. They can oversee different finishing drills. But it
sometimes boils down to natural finishing instincts in the box. Obi still has a long way to go, but he appears to have those killer instincts and his performances from the bench haven't
done Hojlund any favours. Hojlund scored 16 goals in all competitions in his first season in Manchester, which was an impressive haul in his debut campaign, but he spectacularly regressed
in his second year at the club. The Denmark international looked burdened by the weight of leading the attack and he netted just four goals in the Premier League, an unacceptable total for a
striker at United. The jury is out on whether Hojlund will get a third bite of the cherry in 2025/2026. United will sign a new striker this summer and Hojlund could be sold. And the
22-year-old might not even be guaranteed to be ahead of Obi in the pecking order if he remains beyond the transfer window. United are not expected to send Obi on loan for obvious reasons.
The young striker has shown that he can mix it at senior level and he still has bags of untapped potential. Obi is nowhere near his ceiling and some have suggested Hojlund has already
reached his.