“Next Wayne Rooney” – Ex-England striker lauds teenage Nigeria-eligible star

Former England and Blackburn Rovers striker, Christopher Roy Sutton, has praised Nigeria-eligible teenager, Chido Obi-Martin for his impressive display in recent weeks, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 17-year-old striker, eligible to represent Nigeria, England or Denmark, has caught the eyes of many in recent weeks, and Sutton is the latest, with the former England International likening Obi-Martin to a young Wayne Rooney.

Although he’s yet to find the back of the net in the English Premier League, Chido Obi-Martin has been slowly integrated into the Manchester United first team by Ruben Amorim.

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Sutton, writing in his column for MailOnline, claimed there is a raw edge to the Nigeria-eligible striker, and he’s impressed by how physical he is on the ball.

“Injuries arrive and you get the chance alongside players you had been watching on the television like Obi is experiencing now. Then you’re going up against them and thinking “blimey, I can cope” and you get confidence from that,” the one-cap Englishman wrote.

“I think about Wayne Rooney’s first game for Everton against Arsenal when he came on and the one noticeable thing was how strong and robust and powerful he was. It was eye-opening.

“Obi isn’t Rooney right now, of course, but you have to cope and opposing defenders often look at young players coming in thinking they can physically dominate them, but Obi showed me enough of a menace in his cameos, particularly against Fulham, for people to sit up and take notice. If defenders come up against him now they certainly won’t take him for granted.

“The one thing for me at 17 was that I was still developing physically but anyone who can muscle [Fulham centre-back] Calvin Bassey off the ball as he did, you take your hat off too.”

“Physically he does look like he is there and then he also looks explosive. He looks fearless to me. That’s what you get from young players because he hasn’t been part of this struggling team.

“I think Manchester United fans are looking for someone or something to cling on to right now and while we need to not go over the top given he is finding his feet, he is incredibly exciting as a prospect,” Sutton concluded.

The ex-Celtic striker isn’t the only forward to be wowed by Obi-Martin’s abilities. Former Manchester United striker, Andy Cole, was also impressed.