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"wiping away the Ireland pictures" on his social media page. In the world we now live in, that is proof believe it or not. He might fingers crossed play for us, but a young guy doesn't accidentally do thatComment
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Made the subs' bench again today, which is a good sign. Worryingly, however there was an English flag by his name when the line-up came onComment
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The 5 year residency rule is terrible. Especially when a lad moves because of football. No way should England try to pick the lad. Have they any previous for this type of thing?
Poor form from the lad as well if he does decide to throw his lot in with them. It's not like your identity changes that much between age 12 and 17. I went to secondary school in a neighbouring county aged 12. It would be like me coming out after the leaving hoping to join their county set up. Unthinkable!
That said I wouldn't expect the lad to have built up much allegiance to Ireland in his early years given his background and demographic. If he decided to play the country of his roots/parents then absolutely fair enough. But England would be a real slap in the face.The dude abides....Comment
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They have previous going all the way back to John Barnes. They had no problem calling Okoflex in to take a look at him either. If he qualifies, is considered good enough and wants to play, they will pick him.Comment
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The five year residency only strictly applies to years spent in a country when you're over 18. FIFA do make exceptions for players who move at a young age but it's not guaranteed.Comment
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The new regs have clarified this I think. For players who move to the new country between the ages of 10 and 18, they are eligible once they have lived there for five years. So, if Odubeko has been there for five years, or as soon as he is there for five years, he will be eligible. He will not need to switch nations as he has never played competitively for us. However, he would be able to switch to us or Nigeria in future provided he doesn't win multiple senior caps for England or represent them competitively after his 21st birthday.Comment
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Of course Clubs would also prefer Players to Pick England if possible because being an England International or even a Potential England International puts a Premium of quite a lot of money on players including earning power for the player = = Thats the way it is.Comment
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West Ham are likely to sell Declan Rice for huge money sometime in the next three transfer windows. If he wasn't playing for England, you can knock a large portion of his transfer fee off, so you can hardly blame West Ham for protecting their investment.Comment
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Very true ~ ~ Just think if you are using Declan Rice as an advertising Vehicle as an England International ( particularly if successful ) selling in to a Market of 58 million people (approx) the amount of revenues selling in to suck a market can generate. Ireland is in the half-penney place in comparison !Comment
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Anyone read this article? It's behind a paywall.
Is he referring to racism directed at him whilst in Ireland?Comment
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Interesting article on mipo by Roshane Thomas of the Athletic:
In Dublin, a 12-year-old named Ademipo Odubeko was earning a reputation for being a prospect everyone had to see. Such was the level of excitement, Manchester City scout Michael Collins went to one of his games to find out why this kid was the talk of the town. Within 10 minutes, Collins had seen enough — he was informing City about a precocious talent.
Odubeko, now 18, who made his West Ham United first-team debut in their FA Cup third-round win over Stockport County this month, played for St Joseph’s Boys, one of the most famous clubs in the south of Dublin.
The highly-rated youngster, who was born in the Republic of Ireland but also qualifies for Nigeria, was one of the best players in his age group and when Collins turned up to see what the fuss was about, he was instantly impressed.
“He was playing in a game and I was on the sidelines with Mick,” Bernard Byrne, who was head coach for St Joseph’s then, tells The Athletic. “Mipo immediately caught Mick’s attention.
“Mick said, ‘Is he right- or left-footed?’ I said, ‘He’s predominantly right-footed’, and within five seconds Mipo hit a brilliant strike 25 yards with his left foot and it went in the top corner. Mick jokingly asks, ‘Are you sure he’s right-footed?’
“Within five minutes of that, Mipo did the same thing with his right foot. Mick was a bit speechless.”
Odubeko’s family, who had been planning to relocate to the north west, moved to England but because of FIFA’s ban on the international transfer of minors clubs could not sign him. There was an exemption for players from the European Economic Area, but only those between the age of 16 and 18, a rule that no longer applies for British clubs, of course. The only other exception to FIFA’s ban is if a player’s whole family relocates for non-football reasons — i.e. asylum or a parent’s job. This can, however, take time to establish.
“When Mipo and his family moved to Manchester they weren’t registered for the perceived amount of time they were supposed to be so no club could touch him,” says Byrne.
“If English clubs want to take a young Irish kid, they need to have all the permissions in place. They have to email or write to the club and the FAI (Ireland’s FA) and say, ‘Can we have permission to take this player on trial?’, and so on and so forth. So Mipo went unregistered for quite some time.”
As he and the family settled in England, he attracted the attention of Manchester United, and was free to sign for them in his early teens. He grew to become one of the standout players for their youth team. He scored 35 goals for United Under-18s and the club were determined to tie him down to a long-term contract. But those close to Odubeko felt he was not being pushed enough.
Odubeko was stalling over his future and was in and out of the youth team at United. He even played as a centre-back in two matches — but still ended up scoring. Meanwhile, West Ham were monitoring the situation, and the young striker rejected terms at Old Trafford and moved to the Londoners in October 2019 shortly after turning 17.
West Ham faced a lot of competition for Odubeko, with the likes of Juventus, Bayern Munich, Newcastle United and Feyenoord all monitoring his situation, but he signed a contract which expires in the summer of 2022.
Odubeko is well thought of at the club, not only for his ability but also his character and willingness to learn. He trained with the first team before the Stockport game, having also featured as a late second-half substitute in the pre-season friendly against Ipswich Town in August.
David Moyes and first-team coach Paul Nevin were then in attendance at the Roots Hall when he scored twice in the under-23s’ 3-1 win over Southend United in the EFL Trophy the following month. Moyes is believed to have considered giving Odubeko his first-team debut in the Carabao Cup second round tie against Charlton Athletic a week on from that Southend game, but a hamstring injury ruled him out.
With £45 million record signing Sebastien Haller leaving the club after just 18 months to join Ajax at the start of the current transfer window, Odubeko got the nod to be involved in the FA Cup too.
With Michail Antonio’s importance paramount amid his persistent injury problems, Odubeko could well feature in the FA Cup again this weekend in a fourth-round tie at home against League One promotion chasers Doncaster Rovers.
Odubeko, who led the line for Republic of Ireland Under-16s in their successful 2017 Victory Shield campaign, and has also represented them at under-17 level, is focused on trying to emulate the careers of Robbie Keane and Richard Dunne.
He is from Tallaght, an area in the south of Dublin where Keane and Dunne, who both enjoyed lengthy Premier League and international careers, grew up.
Odubeko was 11 when Byrne first spotted his potential. He has coached St Joseph’s Boys for more than 20 years and the West Ham starlet is the standout.
“Mipo played against us for a club called Crumlin United,” Byrne says. “In that age group, we were very strong but after the game, all the lads couldn’t stop talking about Mipo. Just straight away, his hunger to do well and score goals really impressed me, so that prompted us to sign him.
“He was in the same group as Troy Parrott (the Tottenham Hotspur striker currently out on loan at Millwall in the Championship) and they were both the standout players; Mipo was slightly the better player.”
While Odubeko was considered to be the best footballer amongst his peers, it was his attitude that left a lasting impression.
“In the under-12s national cup final, we won 2-0 and he scored both goals and was unbelievable,” says Byrne. “For the youth teams here, it’s basically like scoring two goals in an FA Cup final. It’s a big deal. Mipo was the difference. The funny thing is you tend to have a lot of pushy parents in the UK and that wasn’t the case with Mipo’s family. His mother is so humble and that has rubbed off on him, because he never got carried away with his achievements.
“He was so determined to take his chance. He was strong, aggressive, fast and absolutely hated losing. I always used to say to the kids, ‘You’re never going to do well if it doesn’t mean something to you’. It was obvious that football meant a lot to Mipo. He won player of the year a couple of times. He won the (league) footballer of the year award when he was 13. There were older players who were up for the award, so for Mipo to win it was a great achievement.”
Byrne still has that award, due to Odubeko’s family moving to Manchester shortly after. They planned on meeting up last year so Byrne could finally hand it over but were unable to do so because of the pandemic. There is one particular game he is keen to mention.
“We played a final against a team called Corinthians Boys, from Cork,” Byrne says. “It was very hostile and our players, especially Mipo, were taking a bit of stick from the spectators. Mipo scored both goals but for one of them, he ran the length of the pitch and put his finger on his lip, telling the fans of the other team to be quiet. It was brilliant.”
Moyes will be hoping to see that level of confidence if the teenager is given another first-team outing tomorrow against Doncaster. The Scot has a track record in placing faith in talented young players, with Jeremy Ngakia (who has since joined Watford), Emmanuel Longelo, Harrison Ashby and Aji Alese making their West Ham first-team debuts and Ben Johnson and Conor Coventry also blossoming since his second spell at the helm began just over a year ago.
Goalscoring is Odubeko’s main strength and it may not be long before he is given a bigger platform on which to prove it.
“I still keep in contact with Mipo,” says Byrne. “When his brother told me they were leaving Manchester United, I was surprised. But I knew Mipo was in good hands and not long after his brother sent me a picture of him posing with the West Ham shirt.
“Mipo’s going to be an exciting player to watch. He’s the reason why people will go to football games. He’s fast, dynamic, strong, he can score all sorts of goals and he’s good in the air. He’s a proper centre-forward.
“He’s a player that West Ham fans will be excited about.
“They have a special talent on their hands, so hopefully Moyes will give him a chance.”Comment
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It would give you some confidence that he wants to be like robbie and DunneComment
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