Clinton Mola

Clinton Mola

Mola with Stuttgart in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Clinton Mola [1]
Date of birth	(2001-03-15) 15 March 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth	Camden, London, England
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [2]
Position(s)	Defender, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Bristol Rovers
Number	6
Youth career
	AC United
2015–2020	Chelsea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020–2023	VfB Stuttgart	12	(0)
2022	VfB Stuttgart II	2	(0)
2022–2023	→ Blackburn Rovers (loan)	4	(0)
2023–2024	Reading	30	(0)
2024–	Bristol Rovers	10	(1)
International career‡
2016–2017	England U16	5	(0)
2017–2018	England U17	5	(1)
2018–2019	England U18	7	(1)
2019	England U19	6	(0)
2021–2022	England U20	3	(1)
2021	England U21	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:52, 6 October 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:40, 30 March 2022 (UTC)

Clinton Mola (born 15 March 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender or defensive midfielder for Bristol Rovers.

Club career

Mola started his football career at grassroots club AC United, then joined Chelsea at the under-14 level following a successful trail. ^{[3] [4]} On 31 January 2020, Mola moved to VfB Stuttgart, signing a 4.5 year contract. ^[5] Mola made his debut for Stuttgart on 5 February 2020 in the 2019–20 DFB-Pokal against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. ^[6] He suffered a hip injury later that season, which ruled him out for the entire 2020–21 season. ^{[7] [8]}

On 1 September 2022, Mola signed for EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers on a season-long loan deal including an option to buy. ^[9] He made his debut on 13 September against Watford. ^[10] Blackburn Rovers opted against activating the buyout option in his loan contract at the end of the season. ^[11]

On 26 August 2023, Mola's contract with VfB Stuttgart was terminated by mutual consent. ^[12]

On 1 September 2023 Mola signed a one-year contract with Reading. ^[13]

On 8 May 2024, the club announced he would be released in the summer once his contract expired. ^[14]

Bristol Rovers

On 25 June 2024, Mola agreed to join fellow League One side Bristol Rovers on a three-year deal with the option for a further season. ^[15] On 5 October 2024, he scored a first senior goal, volleying home his side's second goal as they came from behind to defeat Burton Albion. ^[16]

International career

Born in England, Mola is of Congolese descent. He is a youth international for England. ^[17]

On 6 September 2021, Mola made a goalscoring debut for the England U20s during a 6–1 victory over Romania U20s at St. George's Park. ^[18]

On 4 October 2021, Mola received his first call up to the England U21s as an injury replacement for Levi Colwill. ^[19] On 16 November 2021, Mola made his U21 debut during a 3–2 defeat to Georgia in Batumi. ^[20]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 5 October 2024 ^[21]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
VfB Stuttgart	2019–20	2. Bundesliga	8	0	1	0	–		0	0	9	0
	2020–21	Bundesliga	0	0	0	0	–		0	0	0	0
	2021–22	Bundesliga	3	0	0	0	–		0	0	3	0
	2022–23	Bundesliga	1	0	1	0	–		0	0	2	0
	Total		12	2	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
VfB Stuttgart II	2021–22	Regionalliga Südwest	2	0	0	0	–		–		2	0
Blackburn Rovers (loan)	2022–23	Championship	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	6	0
Reading	2023–24	League One	30	0	1	0	0	0	4 [lower-alpha 1]	0	35	0
Bristol Rovers	2024–25 [22]	League One	10	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	11	1
Career total			58	1	3	0	3	0	4	0	68	1

1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

References

1. "2019/20 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
2. "VfB Stuttgart - Clinton Mola". vfb.de. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
3. "Clinton Mola joins Stuttgart". Chelsea F.C. 31 January 2020. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
4. "Ex-Chelsea starlet Mola: I can come to Germany and do well like Sancho". Goal.com. 19 September 2023. Archived from the original on 21 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
5. "VfB sign Clinton Mola". www.vfb.de. VfB Stuttgart. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
6. "Matarazzo lässt die "jungen Wilden" von der Leine". zvw.de (in German). 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
7. "Fehlt Mola dem VfB bis Januar?". kicker (in German). 14 September 2020. Archived from the original on 21 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
8. Zeitung, Stuttgarter (18 July 2021). "Trainingslager des VfB Stuttgart: Clinton Mola ist wieder da". stuttgarter-zeitung.de (in German). Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
9. "Rovers make Mola move!". www.rovers.co.uk. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
10. "Report: Rovers 2-0 Watford". Blackburn Rovers FC. 13 September 2022. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
11. "Notebook: Clinton Mola returns, Gary Bowyer success & EFL TV deal". Lancashire Telegraph. 6 May 2023. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
12. "Mola leaves VfB". VfB Stuttgart. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
13. "Clinton Mola signs one-year deal with the Royals". Reading FC. 1 September 2023. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
14. "Clinton Mola and Sam Hutchinson among four released by Reading". BBC Sport. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
15. "Clinton Mola joins Bristol Rovers". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
16. "Burton Albion 1–3 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 5 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
17. "Chelsea Wonderkid Mola : I'm Not Eligible To Represent Nigeria But Congo:: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com.
18. "Six at SGP for MU20s". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
19. "England men's under-21s squad updates - October". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
20. "Georgia 3-2 England MU21s". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
21. Clinton Mola at Soccerway
22. "Games played by Clinton Mola in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2024.