Dapo Mebude

Adedapo Awokoya-Mebude (born 29 July 2001) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for Rangers of the Scottish Premiership as a striker.

Dapo Mebude
Mebude with Scotland U19 in 2019.
Personal information
Full name Adedapo Awokoya-Mebude[1]
Date of birth (2001-07-29) 29 July 2001[1]
Place of birth London, England
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Rangers
Number 62
Youth career
Rangers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019– Rangers 1 (0)
National team‡
Scotland U16
2017–2018 Scotland U17 10 (2)
2018 Scotland U18 2 (0)
2018– Scotland U19 11 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:38, 5 June 2019 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11:07, 17 October 2019 (UTC)

Early and personal life

Mebude was born in London,[2] and is of Nigerian descent.[3] His family moved to Scotland when he was young, and he joined the Rangers youth system after attending an open Soccer Schools event organised by the club.[4] He was later a participant in the SFA's Performance School programme at Holyrood Secondary School,[5] and also attended Rangers' youth partnership school Boclair Academy.[6]

His younger brother Dire is also a footballer, who as of 2019 was playing for Rangers and Scotland at youth level.[7][8]

Club career

Mebude turned professional with Rangers in May 2017.[9] He signed a new contract with the club in December 2018, keeping him at Ibrox until 2021.[6] 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.[10] He made his senior debut on 19 May 2019, in a 1–2 away defeat against Kilmarnock in the league.[11]

International career

Mebude represented Scotland at under-16, under-17, under-18, and under-19 youth levels.[1][9][6][10][12]

Playing style

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".[2] In a September 2019 interview, Mebude stated "When I play as a winger I try and be direct and score goals like Raheem Sterling. He is fast, direct and a similar build to me."[13]

gollark: Wasn't me.
gollark: Oh, this is weirdly formatted now.
gollark: This is highly potatos.
gollark: Are you going to ban DemoVirus now?
gollark: Banned on the old and probably new forums, I think.

References
  1. Dapo Mebude at the Scottish Football Association
  2. Mark McDougall (7 November 2018). "Who is Dapo Mebude? Rangers fans rave as teen hits treble for reserves". Daily Record. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  3. "Nigerian Superkid Signs Professional Contract With Scottish Powerhouse Rangers:: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com.
  4. Dapo Mebude determined to grab his Rangers chance with the help of striking rivals Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe, Evening Times, 17 September 2019
  5. Performance Schools Roll Of Honour, Scottish Football Association
  6. "Dapo Mebude Signs New Contract". Rangers F.C. 15 December 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  7. Watch Dire Mebude strike as Rangers U15s beat Charlton to win prestigious SuperCupNI, Daily Record, 2 August 2019
  8. Under-16s set for 2019 Victory Shield, Scottish Football Association, 28 October 2019
  9. "Rangers starlets Serge Atakayi and Dapo Mebude profiled as academy prospects add to their growing reputation". Daily Record. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  10. "Rangers facing striker shortage against St Johnstone, says Gerrard". BBC Sport. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  11. "Kilmarnock 2–1 Rangers". BBC Sport. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  12. Alasdair Mackenzie (27 March 2018). "Rangers youngster Dapo Mebude seals win for Scotland Under-17s against Germany". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  13. Cusick, Aiden (10 September 2019). "Rangers winger Dapo Mebude likens himself to £49m Premier League star". HITC.
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