Former Rangers starlet Adedire Mebude is in superb form for Manchester City’s U23 side and a Premier League 2 title is now within the teenager’s grasp in England’s North West.
While older brother Dapo is plying his trade over in Belgium with KV Oostende these days, 18-year-old Adedire may be about to enjoy a fittingly special end to an already special campaign.
The winger has reached double figures for both goals and assists in the 2022/23 Premier League 2 campaign; his scintillating performance in the recent 6-0 hammering of Man United seeing Brian Barry-Murphy’s side maintain their one-point lead over Chelsea at the top of the table.
In all competitions, Mebude has 13 goals and 12 assists in all competitions. Not bad for a forward playing his first season at U23 level, graduating from the U18s with flying colours.
Former Rangers kid Adedire Mebude shining at Manchester City
“It’s very good (to be in the title race). Big pressure but nothing more than we could ask for. Big games every game. The last six (of the season) are very important,” Mebude, who produced a staggering 18 assists in all competitions last term, tells the Man City website.
“We’ve got very good players from top to bottom so we couldn’t ask for much more. And hopefully a bit of silverware to finish the season would be nice.”
Another PL2 title would be Manchester City’s third in a row. The likes of Phil Foden, Rico Lewis and Romeo Lavia have risen through the ranks at the Etihad. And if Mebude can maintain his outstanding output in the final third, the one-time Ibrox kid will almost certainly be playing first-team football somewhere, for someone, sooner rather than later.
“Obviously, had a lot of goals and assists in the Under-18s last year. The challenge for him is to become consistent at this level,” coach Barry-Murphy tells the Manchester Evening News of Mebude; scorer of on debut for Scotland’s U21s earlier this month.
“He’s a very exciting player to watch. He’s got a lot of stuff that he can improve on and he knows that. The most exciting is that he’s willing to focus on that and improve his all-round game.”
According to the Evening Standard, the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United and PSV Eindhoven have taken note of Mebude’s development.
PSV signed Noni Madueke and sold him to Chelsea for a massive profit. The Eredivisie giants have also helped take Jarrad Branthwaite’s career to another level on loan from Everton.
