Festy Ebosele D Udinese b.2002

**Eirambler** · 07/02/2023, 7:23 AM

Originally Posted by third policeman

So why are they toiling away playing in the Championship, League 1 or SPL then?

Probably because they don't actually want to sit on the bench for a Serie A club.

**Razors left peg** · 07/02/2023, 1:06 PM

Originally Posted by JR89

By that logic James Abankwah should get a call up to the seniors rather than the U19s next month.

He should be in the u21s

**Jd2793** · 07/02/2023, 1:37 PM

Originally Posted by tommy_c12000

I would definitely call Festy up, need to help his development along. Massive ceiling although struggles technically, can be trained.

Has he really made progress with Udinese? Yesterday looks like the Argentinian right wing back must have been injured? And Festy’s fellow Nigerian was selected ahead of him. At least it meant Festy got a bit more than usual with 20 minutes. But if I’m assessing this right, he is potentially their 3rd choice right wing back currently?

10 days in a training camp wont do a whole pile for him tbh

**Eirambler** · 07/02/2023, 2:01 PM

Originally Posted by Razors left peg

He should be in the u21s

Based on his standout displays for Udinese?

**JR89** · 07/02/2023, 2:46 PM

Originally Posted by Eirambler

Based on his standout displays for Udinese?

Regularly makes the bench of a Serie A team like Festy.

His U19s campaign will be finished by the time the U21s kick off so will move up either way by the summer. Bar Festy, if he decides he wants to play U21s then there's no one else to play RB.

**Stuttgart88** · 08/02/2023, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

He was called up a year ago wasn't he?

Fairly sure he was either on the bench or named in the squad but missed out on the matchday 23

Yeah he was called up but should have been in the match day squad and used. He was causing havoc (sometimes at both ends!) anytime he played for Derby at that time, a really disruptive player. I think it was an opportunity missed.

**tetsujin1979** · 08/02/2023, 10:30 AM

Was named on the bench against Ukraine

**Eirambler** · 08/02/2023, 10:31 AM

It was a missed opportunity. He called him up but then didn't put him on the bench in the home game against Scotland. When Obafemi went off and we were 3-0 up it would have been an ideal time to bring him on for experience and also keep up the tempo we were playing with at that point. But of course, having left him off the bench, Kenny then couldn't do that. So the opportunity was lost.

**tetsujin1979** · 08/02/2023, 11:12 AM

Missed that he was a sub in the away game against Ukraine too

**Diggs246** · 08/02/2023, 11:59 AM

Let him have a run v Latvia
We might need him to come on v France!
So at least he will have international exposure first.

Ive a repeating nightmare that hourihane is in the squad and gets game time again

**nigel-harps1954** · 08/02/2023, 12:02 PM

I think Ebosele has a fairly high ceiling. Potentially an important player for us over the next decade, but it's madness to suggest he should be near the squad now when he's played a total of 40 minutes in Serie A in nearly 7 months.

If he were a left back, I could possibly see something in it, given it is probably our only real immediate 'problem' area on the pitch, but there's a whole host of players actually playing football ahead of him currently.

Coming up to an important qualifying campaign, it's not the time to be giving players a run on the pitch for either experience, or just for the sake of it.

**Diggs246** · 08/02/2023, 12:13 PM

He's already, as stated been part of competitive squads
So I'm not barking mad!

**SkStu** · 08/02/2023, 12:16 PM

Agree with all of the above, Nigel. He has potential and I hope it all works out for him at Udinese but even when he put in a few monster performances for Derby he was definitely an unpolished diamond with some obvious flaws in his game (defensive positioning was suspect at times and he had a tendency to wait for the ball to come to him). I did see him play off the left for Derby (he'd sometimes switch flanks during games) but it actually exposed some of his flaws so he is a predominantly right-sided option.

Its way too early to be talking about a senior call up as an expectation or a given - as I said earlier in the thread, we cant really tell if he has progressed and had some of those habits ironed out of his game with Udinese. And who does he replace? (its not Hourihane FWIW - that should be someone who plays midfield)

Really hoping he makes the breakthrough in Serie A though and gets to be a regular in the squad and a powerful option for us.

**Exgrad** · 08/02/2023, 12:48 PM

Anyone any idea what position he played in his sub appearances so far? a lot seem to think of him as a right back / right wing back, but any time i saw him play for Derby he was playing as a winger / attacking forward.

**SkStu** · 08/02/2023, 1:19 PM

He's definitely more of a right wing back from what i have seen from him and he sometimes would get pushed up forward into a more traditional right wing position (I can remember at least two games where he switched to the left - once temporary and the other for the rest of the game). I recall comments from Kenny where he said he saw him as a right winger who can play RWB.

I don't know anything about his Udinese appearances though and where he was played.

**Razors left peg** · 08/02/2023, 1:26 PM

Originally Posted by Eirambler

Based on his standout displays for Udinese?

Based on playing senior football and excelling in LOI before a move to a top European League where he is on the bench every week.

He has bypassed u19 level in my opinion

**JR89** · 08/02/2023, 2:01 PM

Originally Posted by Razors left peg

Based on playing senior football and excelling in LOI before a move to a top European League where he is on the bench every week.

He has bypassed u19 level in my opinion

And the U21s won't play a competitive match this year till September so has plenty of time to play both U19s and U21s this year. His U19s campaign could end in March and if they make the finals that's not till July and wont clash with any training camps the U21s have in the summer.

**nigel-harps1954** · 08/02/2023, 2:40 PM

Originally Posted by Diggs246

He's already, as stated been part of competitive squads
So I'm not barking mad!

That's when he was actually playing football though

**elatedscum** · 08/02/2023, 2:57 PM

Originally Posted by JR89

And the U21s won't play a competitive match this year till September so has plenty of time to play both U19s and U21s this year. His U19s campaign could end in March and if they make the finals that's not till July and wont clash with any training camps the U21s have in the summer.

yeah - i'd keep all the 2004 and 2005 kids (except Ferguson) with the 19s until the 19s campaign has ended. Could then possibly look at moving up some of the likes of Abankwah, Curtis, McJannett, Coleman, Ferizaj - right back and centre midfield are the obvious areas where the squad could use players.

**Razors left peg** · 08/02/2023, 11:27 PM

Originally Posted by JR89

And the U21s won't play a competitive match this year till September so has plenty of time to play both U19s and U21s this year. His U19s campaign could end in March and if they make the finals that's not till July and wont clash with any training camps the U21s have in the summer.

Fair enough, my point was more that he's moved on from u19 level, but if there's no 21s games then he obviously should be with the 19s