Michael Obafemi

Michael Oluwadurotimi Obafemi (born 6 July 2000) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Southampton.

Michael Obafemi
Personal information
Full name Michael Oluwadurotimi Obafemi[1]
Date of birth (2000-07-06) 6 July 2000
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Southampton
Number 14
Youth career
Ryan[3][4]
Chelsea[3]
Arsenal[3]
0000–2014 Watford[3][4]
2015–2016 Leyton Orient[3][4]
2016–2018 Southampton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018– Southampton 29 (4)
National team‡
2017–2018 Republic of Ireland U19 3 (1)
2019– Republic of Ireland U21 5 (0)
2018– Republic of Ireland 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:47, 11 October 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12:54, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Personal life

Obafemi was born in Dublin to Nigerian parents. His family moved to England and he was raised in the London area.[4]

His older brother Afolabi Obafemi is also a footballer.[3]

Club career

Obafemi was released by Watford prior to his 14th Birthday in 2014. He took a year out of the game before joining Leyton Orient in 2015, moving on to Southampton in 2016.[5]

Obafemi made his professional debut as a substitute in the 82nd minute of a 1–1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 21 January 2018.[6] Aged 17 years and 199 days, Obafemi became the second youngest player to make a Premier League appearance for Southampton after Luke Shaw, who was 17 years and 116 days old.[7]

He scored his first professional goal with the third goal in a 3–1 victory at Huddersfield on 22 December 2018; at 18 years and 169 days old, he became Southampton's youngest scorer in the Premier League.[8]

International career

Obafemi was eligible to represent England, Nigeria, and the Republic of Ireland.[9] However, in November 2018 he committed to the Republic of Ireland.[10]

Obafemi has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-19 level, debuting during the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification campaign.[11]

On 6 November 2018, Obafemi was named in the senior Republic of Ireland squad for the first time for the friendly against Northern Ireland on 15 November and the UEFA Nations League match against Denmark on 19 November 2018.[12][13] He came on as a substitute in the second half of the 0–0 draw against Denmark to make his debut.[14] He also became the first player born in the 2000s to win a senior cap for Ireland.[15] Obafemi made his debut for the Republic of Ireland under-21 team on 10 October 2019, coming off the bench and impressing fans and media alike, in a 0–0 draw with Italy under-21s at Tallaght Stadium.[16]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 26 September 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Southampton 2017–18[17] Premier League 100000—10
2018–19[18] Premier League 610010—71
2019–20[19] Premier League 2132021—254
2020–21[20] Premier League 100010—20
Career total 294204100355

International
As of match played 19 November 2018[21]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Republic of Ireland 201810
Total10

References
  1. "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  2. "First team profiles: Michael Obafemi". Southampton F.C. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  3. "Former Ryan FC player Michael Obafemi makes Premier League debut". Ryan FC. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  4. Aidan Fitzmaurice (21 January 2018). "'I can't stop here' - Irish youngster makes his Premier League debut...and now he wants more". Independent.ie. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  5. Anka, Carl (2 September 2019). "Two London boys trying to make their mark on the south coast – meet Ramsay and Obafemi". The Athletic. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  6. Paul Fennessy. "17-year-old Irish striker makes debut in Southampton's Premier League clash". The42. Journal Media. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  7. Henson, Mike (21 January 2018). "Southampton 1–1 Tottenham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  8. Oscroft, Tim (22 December 2018). "Huddersfield Town 1 Southampton 3". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  9. "Michael Obafemi: Martin O'Neill won't rush Southampton player to make international decision". BBC Sport. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  10. "Michael Obafemi: Southampton starlet commits to the Republic of Ireland". BBC Sport. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  11. Michael Obafemi – UEFA competition record
  12. Paul Fennessy (6 November 2018). "18-year-old Southampton striker earns praise after first Ireland call-up". The42. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  13. Ben Blake (6 November 2018). "Nigerian-eligible Southampton teenager among four new call-ups in Ireland squad". The42. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  14. "Denmark 0 Republic of Ireland 0". BBC Sport. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  15. Paul Dollery (19 November 2018). "Proud Obafemi 'never had any doubts' about representing Ireland". The42. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  16. "'Michael got the crowd on the edge of their seats, he was running 70 yards with the ball'". The 42. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  17. "Games played by Michael Obafemi in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  18. "Games played by Michael Obafemi in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  19. "Games played by Michael Obafemi in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  20. "Games played by Michael Obafemi in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  21. "Obafemi, Michael". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
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