Wayne Rooney names 2019 Nigeria U17 invitee in Derby's matchday squad in draw vs Blues

Published: January 30, 2022

Former Nigeria U17 invitee Malcolm Ebiowei earned his first call-up to Derby County's first team as they came from behind to share the points in an entertaining 2-2 draw with Birmingham City in an EFL Championship clash on Sunday afternoon.

The Rams manager Wayne Rooney promoted Ebiowei to the first team for the visit of the Blues following his impressive displays for the U18 squad, but the 18-year-old remained on the bench for the entirety of the game.

Arsenal-reared attacking midfielder Ebiowei trained with the Golden Eaglets in Turkey and was named in Nigeria's provisional squad list for the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup.

Ebiowei has been in brilliant form since his arrival from Rangers last September and proved it in his last game in the U18 Premier League, scoring a hat-trick in a 5-1 rout of Leeds United to take his tally to seven goals in seven matches in the division.

The Anglo-Dutch-Nigerian youngster also bagged a treble against Chelsea in the U18 Premier League Cup back in November.

He would be aiming to break into Derby County's development squad on a permanent basis before the end of the season having made four appearances off the bench in the Premier League 2.

After conceding goals from Lyle Taylor and then Scott Hogan, Wayne Rooney's side pulled a goal back in the 87th minute and earned a draw thanks to an acrobatic finish from Krystian Bielik.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : dcfc.co.uk

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