Talented teenagers Mipo Odubeko and John Joe Patrick Finn have committed to Ireland after initial doubts over their international future.

Neither expressed an aspiration to play for another country, however there was stiff competition to secure their signatures. Finn in particular was a wanted man having been in contact with the Spanish, English and Irish FA’s in the last few months.

Securing the signatures of the pair can be seen as a major positive to Ireland as both have the ability to go far in the game.

Odubeko was included in the Ireland u21 squad that was announced yesterday for the upcoming friendly against Wales. Finn picked up an injury which is why he missed out on the squad, but his desire to represent the country has been confirmed.

“He certainly wants to play for the Republic of Ireland,” u21 boss Jim Crawford confirmed while speaking at a press conference today.

“Unfortunately he picked up an injury a couple of days ago and he’s out for, I think, 10 or 12 days. So, a little bit of a disappointment for us and particularly John Joe.

“We had a lot of conversations over the last number of weeks and they’ve been all positive, so.

“I’ve no doubt that perhaps the next window, and if everything is fine with regards injuries and what have you will, that we’ll have John Joe Finn on board.”

Both players have appeared for their club’s first team this season, West Ham (Odubeko) and Getafe (Finn) respectively.

Finn plays as a midfielder and has featured a number of times for Getafe, primarily off the bench, but he has started a couple of cup games as well.

He became the youngest debutant in the history of the club as he made his La Liga debut against Getafe in December aged just 17 years and 42 days.

𝟭𝟳 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝟳𝟮 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀.

John Joe Patrick Finn ‐ of Irish and Cameroonian descent ‐ became @GetafeCF‘s youngest player EVER in #LaLigaSantander earlier this month!#LaLigaHistory pic.twitter.com/u7l4BnBVSn

— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) DECEMBER 15, 2020

Odubeko is a striker and has featured less often for West Ham’s senior team, however his record at youth level is far more publicised.

The 18-year-old left Ireland in 2015 to join Manchester City’s youth side. He didn’t last long in the blue, though, as he switched sides to join Manchester United in 2016.

While at Manchester United, he became one of the hottest prospects at the club owing to his incredible scoring record.

However, he decided to reject a Manchester United contract offer in 2019 as he looked to take his services elsewhere. There was plenty of interest in Odubeko across Europe but he decided to stay in England and sign for West Ham United.

Since moving, Odubeko managed an incredible 18 goal contributions in just 11 games at underage level.

His form for the u23s and u18s seen him get a chance with the first team on two occasions.

His debut came in January against Stockport County in the FA Cup, however he had very little time to make an impression.

He was given another chance in the same competition almost a month later, however this time they faced much fiercer competition in Manchester United. He came on in the 54th minute and showed a couple of nice touches but failed to influence proceedings as he became increasingly isolated up front.

David Moyes controversially subbed him off in extra time after bringing him earlier in the match.

Odubeko has featured on the bench several times since but is yet to receive further first team minutes.

Ireland u21 face Wales u21 next Friday with Odubeko likely to be involved at some point if not from the beginning. The match will be streamed on the Welsh FA’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Squad announcement | Jim Crawford names 14 uncapped players as part of a 22-man squad for #IRLU21 friendly with next week

Full reaction and details https://t.co/GW59C254Lf#WALIRL | #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/VrI9TUy3hA

— FAIreland (@FAIreland) MARCH 18, 2021

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John Joe Patrick Finn was unknown in the football world up until a couple of months ago.

The 17-year-old made his first team debut for Getafe in December and in doing so became the youngest player in the history of the established side. Since then, he’s gone on to make five further appearances and his stock has increased tenfold.

It now appears that the teenager is involved in an international tug of war between Ireland, England and Spain to secure his international future.

Finn qualifies for Ireland through his late Irish father John, he was born and raised in Spain and his eligibility for England is unknown, however it appears the English FA have made contact, as well as the two aforementioned nations. He also qualifies for Cameroon through his mother, but it’s not clear whether they’ve made contact as of yet.

Jim Crawford, Stephen Kenny and Tom Mohan recently made a call to Finn, which was also attended by his mother, in a play to convince the youngster to declare for Ireland.

“We had a good chat with both of them and he was certainly blown away by the presentation that was put together and by what Stephen, Tom and I had to say.

“We are certainly not going to rush him, but we have made contact. He was overwhelmed and he certainly had a big smile on his face. I’ll be making contact with him in the near future to see if there has been any decision.”

Ireland u21s kick off their European Championships 2023 qualification campaign in March, so Crawford may wish to secure his declaration before then, however as he has mentioned, their intent is not to rush him.

“England U21s have made an approach and Spain U21s have made an approach. He is very well sought after, so all we can do is put our case forward and that’s certainly what we did. Again, the decision is in his hands. But to answer your question, yes, we made an approach”, Crawford also revealed.

Finn’s decision – for the short-term at least – could be revealed sooner rather than later with all three nations’ u21 teams taking the field come March.

However, these things are often not black-and-white.

A decision may not come in the immediate future.

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Patrick also came on as a sub against Sevilla at the weekend and impressed enough to earn himself a start in the Copa Del Rey this evening. Club Deportivo Anaitasuna were the opposition as he started as striker, before moving into a familiar midfield role based on his previous cameos. He impressed on the night, playing a key tole in the build up to his side’s first goal.

He did receive national media attention several years ago when he first signed for Real Madrid as a 9-year-old. Following that, though, he gradually faded into obscurity up until a couple of weeks ago.

Before making his move to Getafe, Patrick played in Real Madrid’s youth teams, including a spell at their affiliate club CD Canillas. After signing for Getafe, he played for their C team before being fast-tracked into the first team over the last few weeks.

Patrick was born to an Irish father and a Cameroonian mother in Spain, meaning he’s eligible to represent those 3 countries. He is also reportedly eligible for England, likely through his late Irish father, John.

Ireland are likely to face fierce competition if they are to secure his services given his recent increase in reputation.

Time will tell which nation he decides to represent.

𝟭𝟳 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝟳𝟮 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀.

John Joe Patrick Finn ‐ of Irish and Cameroonian descent ‐ became @GetafeCF‘s youngest player EVER in #LaLigaSantander earlier this month!#LaLigaHistory pic.twitter.com/u7l4BnBVSn

— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) December 15, 2020

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