Australian-born Nigerian teenager Ben Folami is inching closer to being fully promoted to Ipswich Town's first-team ahead of next season.

The Blues manager Mick McCarthy named the striker in the match day squad in their 1-0 loss to Brentford in the Championship on Saturday but was a non-playing substitute.

Folami has made the match day squads for Ipswich Town's last three games in the second-tier, and went on to make his league debut against Millwall on April 2, eight months after his first-team bow in a League Cup clash against Crystal Palace.

The 18-year-old has shown solid potential for Ipswich Town's youth team and this contributed to the decision of McCarthy inviting him to train with the first team.

Last season, the Sydney-born attacker finished as Ipswich Town U18s top scorer with nine goals, a tally he equaled by March while representing the U23s this term.

Surprisingly, Folami has not been capped by Australia and Nigeria at youth level and will be eligible to represent England's Young Lions in the next two years.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : itfc.co.uk