Young Nigerian-born players in the youth teams of four top clubs in England were on fire, as Fisayo Dele-Bashiru scored for Manchester City, Mipo Odubeko netted for Manchester United, Faustino Anjorin hit one for Chelsea and Folarin Balogun made hay for Arsenal.
First of the trio, Dele-Bashiru netted his maiden Cup goal for the U18s as they were beaten 3-2 by West Ham United in the U18 Premier League Cup on Saturday afternoon.
However, Dele-Bashiru was on the losing side, as The Citizens were unfortunate to lose this time out, after thrashing Leicester City 3-0 in their opening Group E fixture.
After Diallo’s 32nd minute strike, Gareth Taylor’s side equalized through fast-rising midfielder, Dele-Bashiru a minute into the second half.
Fisayo is the younger brother of Tom Dele-Bashiru, who made his professional debut for City’s first team against Leicester City in the League Cup in December 2017.
Odubeko continued his surge of form with Manchester United’s U16s, as the Ireland-born kid contributed to four goals in a 5-4 win during their Premier League Cup game with Norwich City on Saturday afternoon.
The Canaries threw away the game as they were leading 3-0 before their opponents leveled the tie before going on to win.
Odubeko played a key role in inspiring United’s comeback, scoring one goal and providing three assists for his teammates.
On his part, Arsenal’s Balogun got his ninth of the season as The Gunners hit Fulham 4-0 in their second group match in the U18 Premier League Cup on Saturday afternoon.
The 17-year-old Balogun has been on fire since the start of the 2018-19 season and has been included in the U23 squad for Premier League 2 matches.
Balogun, the leading scorer in the U18 Premier League South with eight goals, featured for the U21s in their recent away win against League Two side Forest Green Rovers in the EFL Trophy.
He is ahead of Troy Parrot from Tottenham Hotpur, Thierry Nevers from Reading and Chelsea’s Anjorin, who continued his scoring form in a 3-0 win against Newcastle United on Saturday.
The England U18 international took eight minutes to break the deadlock with a volley in the U18 Premier League Cup fixture at Newcastle United Football Academy.
In doing so, Anjorin netted in his eighth successive game for The Blues in all competitions, including the U18 Premier League, U18 Premier League Cup, UEFA Youth League, Premier League 2 and EFL Trophy.
Five minutes before half-time, it was 2-0 to the visitors with Jon Russell firing home from 12 yards out after Jordan Aina had won a penalty, before Jack Wakely scored in the 77th minute.
