West Ham’s Ademipo Odubeko is a great academy prospect and can become a future star at the club
After coming off the bench for West Ham in the FA Cup against Stockport County, albeit only playing a few minutes, it was great to see a player get his chance in the first team to try and impress David Moyes.
Odubeko signed from Manchester United in October 2019, after spending his schoolboy years with the Northern club. After being highly sought after by multiple top European teams, West Ham managed to secure his services before others could.
The 18-year-old netted in his U18 Premier League debut and scored seven goals in six games last season for West Ham. Since then he has scored for West Ham’s U23s, and grabbed a brace for the U21 side in the EFL trophy against Southend United in September.
After reports came out that Odubeko would be travelling with the team this week, many were too quick to suggest how talented he is and how bright his future could be.
The youngster has already been called up for Ireland’s U17 national team, but unfortunately has struggled with injuries over the last few months, keeping him out of action. However, when called upon, Mipo has shown spectators what he can do.
Happy to have made my @WestHam debut and more importantly be into the next round!
Blessed to be back playing after 4 months out. ⚒ pic.twitter.com/aSTBskJGo4
— Mipo Odubeko (@mipoodubeko) January 11, 2021
With West Ham’s current striker crisis going on at the moment, this could be the perfect opportunity for Odubeko to shine. Currently, Michail Antonio is the only striker in the first team, but has often been prone to injuries. If no forward is signed this month, Odubeko will surely be on Moyes’ radar for another first-team call-up.
Mipo has a poacher-like instinct in front of goal. He has a strong physique and is fairly quick as well, giving him the ability to shrug off the opposition and find spaces in front of goal.
While he is lacking first-team opportunities at the moment, he is a consistent player in West Ham’s U18 squad. With Odubeko still being young, there is still a lot of time for him to progress and develop into a first team player, which he inevitably will do.
West Ham is often a club that can help youngsters thrive to succeed in the first team. Our famous academy has seen many top footballing stars come through, and fans should definitely keep an eye out for Odubeko’s performances over the next couple of seasons.
He can be West Ham’s next future star for years to come, he just needs an opportunity to show what he can do.
