David Odunukan was reported 4 days ago as targeted for an England youth call up. Subsequently, reports on Thursday confirmed that it has indeed been the case that England have called the CB up. We give the background on Odunukan & highlight how that is the latest in a sobering trend.
David Odunukan Age
David Odunukan’s age is disputed. At time of writing, both the Daily Record & The National state Odunukan is 15. However, Sofascore states his birthday is 2 January 2010, making him 16.
David Odunukan international background
Reports consistently list David Odunukan as born in London before moving to Scotland in infancy. We as yet are unable to find further details of when in infancy he relocated, & the reason for that relocation.
One online source has flags next to his name implying he also has Nigerian eligibility. We are as yet unable to ascertain his ancestral migration history. That is potentially of importance since if e.g., both his parents only lived in England for a few months or a year before relocating to Scotland, they are less likely to have an English self-identity to pass on to David. If in contrast his Nigerian eligibility is from 1 grandparent who a couple of decades ago emigrated to the UK, that increases the likelihood of Odunukan’s parents feeling & passing on an English self-identity to David. The greater David’s emotional sense of ‘Scottishness’ compared to ‘Englishness’, the greater the likelihood of David ultimately committing to Scotland.
David Odunukan club history
Odunukan was previously on the books at Motherwell. Conflicting sources claim he transferred from there to Rangers in either 2025 or 2026.
Odunukan impressed at the 2026 SuperCupNI. Rangers finished 3rd in their group behind Co. Antrim & Manchester United respectively, & above Massachusetts club, Intercontinental FA. Rangers then also played against Co. Armagh & Co. Tyrone. Japanese & Mexican clubs also played, in the tournament won by Right to Dream from Ghana. Derby County, Southampton & Sunderland also participated.
David Odunukan England call up
England U16s have called up David Odunukan for the Val-de-Marne tournament later this month. The other competing nations are hosts France, Italy & Japan.
The sobering trend
Odunukan is the latest Scotland youth setup player targeted by England to switch allegiance. All of the players below still have multi-eligibility status.
Ben Vickery
Vickery was on the books at Hibs before transferring to Manchester City & switching to England. He was born in Durham before his family relocated to the Coldstream area in the Scottish Borders.
Ben Nelson
Northampton-born Nelson was briefly involved with the Scotland U16 setup. England then swooped, whom he has since represented at multiple age groups. An ACL injury torpedoed a Summer move to the EPL with Manchester City & United both reported as interested in Nelson. He is thus still at Leicester City & out of action until 2027.
Jack Fletcher
Considered the more attack-minded of the Fletcher twins, Jack played for Scotland U16s. However, that punctuated a lengthy string of appearances for England at age group level whom Jack Fletcher still represents. Tyler has publicly announced his decisive commitment to Scotland. There has been no such announcement from Jack so far in the context of either nation for which he is eligible. Tyler has stated that he hopes Jack will again switch to Scotland.
Hayden Hackney
After 2 England U15 caps, Hackney subsequently debuted for Scotland U21s in November 2022. He gained a 2nd Scotland U21 cap in March 2023. It was the respectful & firm opinion of fitba.scot, that Steve Clarke should have had Hackney in the Scotland first team squad at that time. However, England U21s subsequently poached Hackney back in September of that year.
Jack McGrath
Arguably the greatest available talent with Scotland eligibility. McGrath was initially in the Scotland U17 setup before playing for England at the same age group. He then played 3 times for Scotland U19s in this year’s March/April international break. Then, Scotland U19s again called him up for the international break just ended. However, the SFA subsequently announced he was one of 2 players replaced in that squad. The SFA did not provide details of why McGrath was out of the squad. We thus wait to ascertain where McGrath’s international future lies.
Keir McMeekin
McMeekin played for Scotland youths until he was reported in February this year as approached for defection by the England setup. McMeekin hasn’t been in an international squad since for any nation. He transferred from Hearts to Manchester City in the Summer & is also Northern Ireland eligible.
Other nations targeting Scots
During the Summer was the further worry of nations other than England targeting elite-level prospects from the Scotland youth setup. Caelan Cadamarteri was involved with Jamaica, Zion Pullan was involved with Spain, & Lorenzo Sassetti was poached by Italy. However, there has since been some very encouraging news on that front as the international tugs of war continue.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}