JIM CRAWFORD HAS admitted the international future of Ireland underage striker Ademipo Odubeko is uncertain.
The 18-year-old Dublin-born player is considered to be a player of significant potential, having already appeared twice for West Ham in the FA Cup this season.
The Hammers starlet has represented Ireland at U17 level, but he is also eligible to play for England and Nigeria.
Odubeko was originally called into the Ireland U21 squad for their friendly against Wales in March, but pulled out, with “fatigue” cited as the reason for his absence.
However, doubts about his intentions have emerged, after Odubeko was absent from the latest Ireland U21 squad, and Crawford acknowledged the player’s future was uncertain.
“It’s a little bit stale at the minute, if you ask me,” the Ireland U21 boss said. “You know, Stephen [Kenny] has been in touch with the agent, I’ve been in touch with the agent and at the minute, what I’ve heard, they will be sitting around the table today discussing what are the next steps for Mipo.
“At the end of the day Mipo is a young lad, he’s still eligible to play with the U19s. Whatever decision is made, I just hope it’s the right decision for Mipo because he’s a good fella and if I was to say anything, you only have to look at another former Irish international that came from Tallaght that made an unbelievable career.
“I think Robbie Keane made his debut when he was 17, came, scored goals and that’s something, if I was Mipo, I’d be aspiring to.
“At this point, you’ve got a manager with the senior team who’s willing to play young players. I think it’s something for him to think about.
“I got a text off him at the last camp, that he was honoured to be selected for the camp against Wales so there’s certainly something there, that he wants to play for Ireland. But, at the minute, he’s a young boy and obviously might need time to make his decision.
“Some players like Ryan Johansson jump all over it and go ‘yeah, I can’t wait’. Others need time. He is a player who’s got unbelievable pace, can score goals and would be an asset to any squad, so we’ll just see what happens in the near future.”
Asked if he was aware of any concrete interest from England or Nigeria in the player, Crawford responded: “I asked, but no, that wasn’t given to me, I just don’t know where it sits. I just hope that the decision is the best for Mipo.”
And on whether he was concerned about the agent’s role in the player’s thinking, Crawford replied: “Sometimes an agent does make great decisions for players, I can’t really answer that. I just hope that, whatever decision is made, it’s the right decision for Mipo and, as I said, he is a talent, he’s played and scored goals with West Ham’s 23s and the 18s. Okay, he’s been on the bench with the first team for quite a number of games, but I think if he comes with the 21s and scores goals, I wouldn’t say he’d be here that long, because everybody knows that a goalscorer will certainly jump into the senior team [more quickly] than anybody else.”
Another striker who could potentially line out for Ireland is Man City youngster Liam Delap — son of former Stoke and Ireland player Rory.
The 18-year-old has been a regular for England at underage level in recent years, but is eligible to play for Ireland, with his grandfather and three great uncles hailing from Donegal.
The Winchester-born forward has made three senior appearances for Man City this season, including one in the Premier League.
Crawford says the door remains open for Delap if he wishes to switch international allegiance, though he is unaware of any recent talks taking place on that matter.
“There were initial talks a while back, I was in touch with Liam, but he opted for England’s U18s. I certainly wouldn’t be closing the door on it, it’s something that myself, the staff, Stephen [Kenny] and his staff have to sit around a table and say: ‘Okay, what are we going to do about this situation?’
“He’s another player that would add value to the players’ pool and that’s what we need, a competitive player pool to push competition and competitiveness among ourselves, to get the best out of everybody.
“The way I’d see it from my end of things, he hasn’t played a competitive game with England, so why not make contact? His family are from around the Donegal area, I did have a discussion with him about it and it was something that he considered, but England jumped in and he made that decision. I texted him all the best. For me, if there’s an opportunity to get someone with high potential on board, why not? I’d be on the front foot with getting people on board.”
Delap is not the only son of a former Ireland international who could potentially line out for the Boys in Green.
Stephen Ireland’s son Joshua, who has also represented England at underage level, was part of a UK-based Ireland U19s training camp last week, with Crawford watching on.
“He did very well. I was part of the extended staff on that trip and of course, at the end of the trip you’d have a long debrief on certain players. He was one of many that certainly stood out for me with potential at this stage. It will be interesting to see where he goes from now, but you can tell he’s got an eye for a pass and he’s another one who plays in that 10 position.
“His passing range was very good. It’s one of them, I’m not going to lie, that you are told ‘that’s Stephen Ireland’s son,’ [and you think] ‘I’ll have a look at what he’s about.’ He was very good. Very good.”
Dont want a fella not committed. Good luck with Nigeria or England. Presuming they even cap him.
@Colm Cork: I’d like him to play for us. He’s only a young lad so you can understand why he wants to think about it. The obvious option is to play for us but he obviously is considering England and Nigeria. If he eventually decides to play for us after thinking about it, I’m all for having him.
@Eoin Fitzgerald: Oh I’d love him to represent us. But the fact that there is a possibility he is considering other options shows a lack of commitment to Ireland. This weighing up options crap has to stop. You represent you’re country from 16 years old onwards you should be tied to that Country. That is if course just my opinion. Wouldn’t have lost Grealish and Rice if such a scenario existed. Heads are turned too easy these days. €$£ Talks. — And before anyone says international players are not payed, they are paid handsomely with sponsorships etc.
@Colm Cork: If he’s 100% committed then yes I’d love to him. He could say he’s committed but he change his mind all the way up to a competitive senior match(bit like Grealish). I’m actually flabbergasted though that a lad born and raised in Tallaght would wan to represent England. It boggles the mind.
@Colm Cork: what about Ryan Johansson? He was not fully committed and went off and played for Luxembourg b4 declaring for Sweden and is now back with Ireland. You must not want him either
@John Buckley: to be fair to Ryan Johansson when you’re 15/16 years old, you are not mature enough to make a pernement decision on your international career. Ryan had to go through a long and tough appeal to play for Ireland, so if he wasn’t committed he would have given up on the appeal. He didn’t and kept fighting so he could represent us after he was told initially that he couldn’t represent us. Ryan kept on pursuing his dream to play for us after 18 months of appeal and eventually he won. Someone going on an 18 month appeal to play for us and never giving in is someone who is fully committed for me.
@Eoin Fitzgerald: where are you getting 15; he was closer to 18 than 17, the last he switched from Ireland to Luxembourg. He then played 4 games for them and wanted to switch back to Ireland. He has flip-flopped between 3 countries 6 times now and probably more to come. Odubeko has only played for his native country and has shown more commitment than Johansson.
@Colm Cork: they’re only “paid handsomely with sponsorship” if Ireland are successful and qualify for major championships, even then for PL players it’s not even beer money. The big money for players is salary/bonuses and sponsorship generated by playing for a PL club which give them global reach. ROI don’t have that level of reach even back in their biggest days….
@Colm Cork: what about players who now play for the republic, but played for other associations previously?
@Colm Cork: You really have to blame the system though where the bigger countries with bigger leagues are allowed to poach players such as a young lad like this by agents tempting them with if you play for Ireland you will be worth x but if you play for England it’s X. Uefa changing the rules that time really only suits the bigger countries whereas if they were really serious about protecting the smaller countries they would have made a rule that if you played championship at any level or a friendly at senior level you were locked in and that was that. As for Declan Rice that was O’Neill and Keanes fault they could have brought him on v Moldova when we were 2 0 up and in no danger but they didnt
@Michael McGrath: Rice wasn’t on the bench for an Moldova match. Where does this notion come from? Just look up the lineups of both matches to see this.
Sure, he could have been named on the bench and played bit he wasn’t even on the bench.
Very strange for someone from Tallaght not wanting to play for Ireland. As far as I know he grew up in Tallaght too which makes it more strange. Someone in the English must be encouraging him to play for England for a better career.
@Eoin Fitzgerald: good luck and good riddance,if he’s unsure that’s enough
@Pete mc pete: he obviously feels dual nationality. If a young lad has to think about his international future , that’s perfectly ok. If he eventually chooses us, I have no problem with him taking the time to decide. What I find strange though is the fact that he was born and raised in Tallaght but he might not want to represent us and he could represent England.
@Eoin Fitzgerald: his team mate Mr Rice maybe……….
@Eoin Fitzgerald: dual nationality? If he went off and played for nigeria i could understand but to hold off for england would be a huge disappointment.Its fairly obvious whats going on here. Agents and money.
@Fr Romeo sensini.: I know. I actually can’t understand why he would want to represent to England. His agent must have something to do with it. His agent must feel that he’s good enough to represent England and he will have a better club career if he does. I personally feel outraged that a fella born and raised in Tallaght would represent England. If he eventually decides to represent us, I’d definitely welcome back. Ireland aren’t gifted with natural goal scorers and he is a goal scorer. Beggars can’t be choosers.
It’s one thing if an English born player who is qualified to play for multiple countries needs time to think. But if you’re Irish born and not 100% committed then f off, you’re not wanted.
@Ger: fair enough if he wants to play for Nigeria. You can understand an affinity he might feel for them through his family, but it sets a fairly depressing precedent if lads that grew up in Ireland for the majority of their lives start declaring for England if they show any bit of promise. At least the likes of Grealish and Rice were born and raised in England so you can’t really hold it against them. Think Irish fans would have a right to feel aggrieved if this happened though.
@Fred spins kdb: meanwhile tens of thousands of Irish fans will continue flying across the Irish Sea every weekend to see their fav English club. Totally dwarfs the number who stay at home. Our fans are obsessed with English football. Our media is obsessed with English football. Our sports sell English jerseys like they’re our own. Our players only seem to want to go to England at a young age.
@Ricky Wright: yeah a lot of kids/adults are obsessed with English teams but it’s fairly scary that some want to play for the national team….
@Ger: absolutely right . If he doesn’t feel Irish then he is right He isn’t . Rather play and lose with lads who want to represent us and give their all .
Look at Aubameyang at Arsenal. Born in France but declared for Gabon. He has still had a very successful career and made a lot of money. The idea that you need to declare for a bigger country to become successful and or wealthy is a complete misnomer. As disappointing as they were, the Grealish and Rice situations were very different as they were both born and raised in England. If Mipo declares for Nigeria, absolutely fair enough. If he declares for England that would be far more disappointing than either Grealish or Rice.
If he has any sense and he’s good enough , for his own sake, he should declare for England.
It has worked out just fine for Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, who now are 2 of the best players in the England squad for the Euros. One or two good players would be lost among the mediocrity of the Ireland team.
@Alan ODoherty: that’s the spirit Alan…. It will be so disappointing if this young fella declares for England… and a further illustration of how rotten soccer has become.
Perhaps the fact that Ireland are not very good and couldn’t buy a win at the moment is a factor? A career losing group games or the possibility of world cups Mipo? I don’t blame him at all. If I was in his position I’d think twice too.
@Phil McCabe: how are they in a position to get any good if any player showing vague promise decides to take the same option? Bit of a catch 22.
@Fred spins kdb: That’s the FAI’s fault, not his. We don’t have a proper national academy that develops high quality young players. If he has the talent to play for big countries like Nigeria and England I can see why his advisers are saying that he should wait and see.
Agents getting involved in deciding players international careers is a new low. The only bit of raw loyalty and passion that still exists in the game is players representing their country. I dread to think where football could be in 10/15 years time