sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Adedapo Paul Oluwaseun Awokoya-Mebude (born 29 July 2001) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Belgian club kV Oostende.

Dapo Mebude

Mebude with Scotland U19 in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Adedapo Paul Oluwaseun Awokoya-Mebude[1]
Date of birth	(2001-07-29) 29 July 2001 (age 21)[2]
Place of birth	London, England
Position(s)	Winger, Striker
Club information
Current team	kV Oostende
Youth career
2011–2019	Rangers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2021	Rangers	1	(0)
2021	→ Queen of the South (loan)	11	(2)
2021–2022	Watford	0	(0)
2021–2022	→ AFC Wimbledon (loan)	25	(2)
2022–	kV Oostende	0	(0)
National team‡
	Scotland U16
2017–2018	Scotland U17	10	(2)
2018	Scotland U18	2	(0)
2018–2020	Scotland U19	13	(4)
2021–	Scotland U21	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:30, 1 May 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:32, 19 November 2021 (UTC)

Early life

Mebude was born in London,[3] growing up in Peckham,[4] and is of Nigerian descent.[5] His family moved to Scotland when he was around 10 years old, and he joined the Rangers youth system after attending an open Soccer Schools event organised by the club.[6][7] He was later a participant in the SFA's Performance School programme at Holyrood Secondary School,[8] and also attended Rangers' youth partnership school Boclair Academy.[9]

Club career

Mebude turned professional with Rangers in May 2017.[10] Mebude signed a new contract with the club in December 2018, keeping him at Ibrox until 2021.[9] In February 2019 he was recalled from international duty with the Scotland under-19s to join up with the Rangers first team, due to injury problems.[11] Mebude debuted for the first-team on 19 May 2019, in a 2–1 away defeat versus Kilmarnock in the league.[12]

On 21 January 2021, Mebude joined Scottish Championship club Queen of the South on loan until the end of the season.[13] He scored his first professional goal, in a 4–2 league win at Gayfield Park versus Arbroath on 6 March 2021.[14]

In June 2021, Mebude ran out his contract with Rangers to become a free agent.[15][7] A month later in July, he was signed by Watford on a two-year contract with the option of a further two-years.[16][17] He suffered a back injury at the end of July 2021, and was hospitalised.[18][19]

He moved on loan to AFC Wimbledon in August 2021.[20][4] He scored his first goal for Wimbledon in a 3–3 draw against Bolton Wanderers on 14 August 2021.[21]

In September 2022 he signed for Belgian club kV Oostende.[22]

International career

Mebude has represented Scotland at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 youth levels, and made his first under-21 appearance in October 2021 against Denmark.[2][10][9][11][23]

Style of play

In November 2018, he was described by the Daily Record as a "diminutive striker" who was "highly-rated within Ibrox" and that he was "known for his lightening [sic] quick pace as well as his obvious finishing ability and is a handful for defenders with his trickery".[3] In a September 2019 interview, Mebude stated "When I play as a winger I try and be direct and score goals like Raheem Sterling who is fast, direct and a similar build to me."[24]

Personal life

In February 2021 Mebude was one of five Rangers players fined by Scottish police "for attending an illegal gathering of ten people in a flat" in breach of lockdown rules during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[25]

His younger brother Dire is also a footballer, who as of September 2020 was playing at youth level for Premier League club Manchester City, and Scotland.[26]

References

External links

• Dapo Mebude at Soccerbase

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