Mipo Odubeko
Ademipo "Mipo" Ibrahim Odubeko (born 21 October 2002) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for West Ham United. He made his professional debut for West Ham in 2021 and has represented the Republic of Ireland on the international stage at various youth levels, although he remains eligible to play for both England and Nigeria. Club career. Early life and career. Odubeko was born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland to Nigerian parents and grew up in Tallaght, and he spent his formative years playing football for St Joseph's Boys. When he was fourteen years  old, Odubeko and his family relocated to Manchester in England where, despite initially encountering registration concerns due to FIFA's prohibition on the international transfer of minors, he later represented both Manchester City and Manchester United at youth level. He spent the majority of his remaining schoolboy years with the latter, where he scored on his U18 Premier League debut and netted 35 times in total, before joining the academy side of fellow Premier League club West Ham United in 2019. West Ham United. In October 2019, shortly after his 17th birthday, Odubeko turned down a contract extension with Manchester  United in order to sign a three-year-deal with West Ham. Over the course of the next two seasons, he excelled with the club's development side and scored 11 goals in 10 appearances in the Premier League 2, winning the competition's Player of the Month award in April 2021 in the process. Odubeko's form at youth level caught the attention of first team manager David Moyes during the 2020–21 season and he made two senior appearances for the campaign, making his debut as a substitute for Michail Antonio in the club's 1–0 FA Cup third  round victory over Stockport County, before featuring again in the following round of the competition against his former side United. Throughout the season, he also trained regularly with the senior team and was named in the club's matchday squad on 18 occasions throughout the Premier League campaign. Huddersfield Town loan. On 30 August 2021, Odubeko moved on a season-long loan to EFL Championship side Huddersfield Town, where he was given the number 7 shirt. After only making six appearances, amounting to 107 minutes of playing time, in the first half of the season, West Ham activated his recall  clause, and his loan was ended on 4 January 2022. Doncaster Rovers loan. On 27 January 2022, Odubeko joined EFL League One side Doncaster Rovers on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season. He scored his debut goal for the club, a powerful shot from , on 15 April in a 2-1 home defeat to Bolton Wanderers. International career. Odubeko was born in the Republic of Ireland and is of Nigerian descent through his parents, who were both born in the African country. He represented the Republic of Ireland’s under-16 side in their successful 2017 Victory Shield campaign  and was selected to play for the under-17 team in two matches against Finland in March 2019. However, he was overlooked for Ireland's squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship despite his strong form at club level and, having not represented the nation in the intervening period, rejected subsequent call-ups to the under-21 squad in 2021, sparking speculation that he could switch allegiances to Nigeria. He also remains eligibile to represent England. Odubeko made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U21 team on 29 March 2022 in a 2–0 win away to Sweden U21 in the  2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers. Style of play. Odubeko is a striker who boasts a prolific goalscoring record at youth level. He is predominantly right-footed but has been described as being "strong, powerful and fast" and as a player who is capable of playing on "his right and left side and who is good in the air" by former coach Bernard Byrne. This has been echoed by Republic of Ireland under-21 manager Jim Crawford who, in 2021, reflected on Odubeko as being a player who possesses "unbelievable pace, can score goals and would be an asset to any  squad."