“Made it when I retired” – Manchester United legend warns Nigeria-eligible Chido Obi-Martin

Former Manchester United and England striker, Andy Cole, has advised Nigeria-eligible teenager, Chido Obi-Martin, on how to make it through at Old Trafford, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 17-year-old came on in the 67th minute against Fulham in the FA Cup, and despite Manchester United’s woeful performance, the youngsters’ cameo turned a few heads as they praised him.

Chido Obi-Martin joined Manchester United from Arsenal last summer, and Cole, who won five English Premier League titles, was full of praise for the Nigeria-eligible forward.

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“He did well. Can I tell you why? At 17, what’s your fear? He doesn’t have anything to be scared of. If I was 17 and I came on, I’d try to ruffle a few defenders and score a goal, and that’s what he did because he’s in the senior team. He wouldn’t have done that if he was playing with his age group.

“When you’re raw and you’re 17, you have no fear. I looked at him yesterday, and he’s got a chance. He’s still rough around the edges, but you expect him to be,” the Premier League’s fourth highest goalscorer said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents Podcast.

Additionally, Cole warned the lanky forward to keep his head down to go up the ranks at the Theatre of Dreams, as a professional football career is very volatile.

“I only made it when I retired. It was then I could look back and be like, ‘yeah, I did alright. ‘ At 17, you’re only just starting. No matter what you’ve done, you’ve not made it.

“Head down, man, keep your head down and keep working hard. Keep doing what you’re doing. When I was younger, it was different, but now, I’ll just tell them to keep being the best they can be. We all know there are pitfalls in football, but keep your head down, and you’ll be doing okay,” the ex-Blackburn Rovers forward concluded.

Calvin Bassey found the back of the net against Manchester United, as they held the home team off to a penalty shoot-out where they secured victory to get into the FA Cup’s quarter-final.

Andy Cole scored 187 goals in the Premier League, fourth in the all-time goalscorer list behind Wayne Rooney (208), Harry Kane (213) and Alan Shearer (260).