Chido Obi cannot play in Manchester United's Europa League campaign after being omitted from the club's squad for the knockout rounds.

Man United are currently experiencing somewhat of a crisis in forward areas due to Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee's struggles in front of goal.

Hojlund has mustered just seven goals in 35 competitive appearances this term, with his most recent goal taking place against Viktoria Plzen in a Europa League clash on December 12.

Meanwhile, Zirkzee has scored just five goals in 40 matches in all competitions since joining Man United from Bologna last summer.

Those struggles, as well as a number of injury issues, have created the opportunity for Obi to feature as a substitute in three of Man United's last four matches.

Man United confirm Obi blunder

Obi offered a real attacking threat when he replaced Hojlund in the 68th minute of Sunday's penalty-shootout defeat against Fulham in the FA Cup fifth round.

The 17-year-old put himself in the position to have three big chances, and while he was unable to capitalise on those opportunities, there were certainly positives to take from just his third appearance in senior football.

Man United head coach Ruben Amorim admitted that "anything can happen" when asked if Obi was in contention to start in the upcoming matches.

However, he will not be able to start in the first leg of Man United's Europa League last-16 clash against Real Sociedad after the club confirmed in a statement that he had not been added to their European squad list.

Teams were allowed to make three new changes to their Europa League squads, which were submitted to UEFA for the February 6 deadline.

Man United opted not to put Obi on their A list, and he is ineligible to be included in the B list after only arriving from Arsenal in September.

To be eligible for the B list, players who are born after January 1, 2003, need to have been with their current clubs for two years.

As a result, the striker cannot feature in the two legs against Real Sociedad or any other potential tie in Man United's Europa League campaign.

Why has Obi been left out?

Tyrell Malacia, Marcus Rashford and Antony were all included in the squad for the league phase, but they have vacated their spots after leaving the club in the winter transfer window.

Instead of Obi, Man United added January arrivals Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven, while Jack Fletcher was also included because he was not eligible for the B list after only joining the Red Devils in the summer of 2023.

As per The Mirror, Man United decided against Obi's inclusion because they were not counting on his recent breakthrough into the first team.

They were also not expecting their current injury crisis which includes the absence of attacker Amad Diallo, who is set to miss the rest of the season with ankle ligament damage.

As a result of his Europa League omission, Obi's next outing for Man United could take place against his former club Arsenal in Sunday's Premier League encounter. body check tags ::