Moses Odubajo

Moses Odubajo

Odubajo playing for Brentford in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Moses Adeshina Ayoola Junior Odubajo [1]
Date of birth	(1993-07-28) 28 July 1993 (age 31) [1]
Place of birth	Greenwich, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.77 m) [2]
Position(s)	Right-back
Team information
Current team	AEK Athens
Number	29
Youth career
	Millwall
2009–2010	Leyton Orient
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2014	Leyton Orient	93	(13)
2010	→ St Albans City (loan)	1	(0)
2012	→ Sutton United (loan)	3	(0)
2012	→ Bishop's Stortford (loan)	2	(3)
2014–2015	Brentford	45	(3)
2015–2018	Hull City	42	(0)
2018–2019	Brentford	30	(0)
2019–2021	Sheffield Wednesday	40	(0)
2021–2022	Queens Park Rangers	28	(0)
2022–2024	Aris	53	(1)
2024–	AEK Athens	2	(0)
International career
2015	England U20	5	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:08, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

Moses Adeshina Ayoola Junior Odubajo (born 28 July 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Greek Super League club AEK Athens. He is a product of the Leyton Orient youth system and represented England at U20 level.

Club career

Leyton Orient

Early years

A right back or right winger, ^[3] Odubajo began his career at age 14 with local club Millwall and spent time with the club on trial, before leaving football behind at the age of 13, following the death of his mother. ^[4] He returned to Millwall following a break from the game, but failed to win a scholarship deal. ^[4] Odubajo was recommend by the Lions to Leyton Orient and went on trial with the club. ^[4] He was offered a scholarship by youth team manager Wayne Burnett, though Burnett later changed his mind about the deal. ^[4] Burnett left Orient in the summer of 2009 and Odubajo returned to the club, impressing new youth team manager Andy Edwards and finally winning a scholarship deal. ^[4] He appeared for the youth team during the 2009–10 season and contributed to the team's run to the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup. ^[3] Odubajo was an unused substitute for the first team on 11 occasions during the 2010–11 season and signed a one-year professional contract with the club on 29 April 2011. ^[5] He also won Orient's Youth Team Player of the Year award. ^[6]

Odubajo was called into the first team squad for four of Orient's matches early in the 2011–12 season and made his professional debut in a Football League Trophy first round East London derby versus Dagenham & Redbridge on 7 September 2011. ^[7] Initially named as a substitute, Odubajo replaced Elliot Omozusi after 64 minutes in a match which ended with a penalty shoot-out. ^[8] He scored a penalty in the shoot-out, which Orient lost 14–13. ^[9] He made five further appearances during the 2011–12 season and made his first start for the club in the final game of the campaign at home to Rochdale. ^[8] In the match, he scored his first senior goal with a "stunning" winner in a 2–1 victory. ^{[6] [8]} The 25-yard strike earned him the club's Goal of the Season award. ^[10] On 25 June 2012, Odubajo signed a new one-year deal with the Os. ^[6]

First team breakthrough

Featuring mainly as a right back during the opening months of the 2012–13 season, ^[3] Odubajo made regular substitute appearances and sporadic starts before finally breaking into the starting lineup in October 2012. ^[11] By then being increasingly being utilised as a right winger, ^[3] he put an end to the transfer speculation by signing a new two-year contract in February 2013. ^[12] Odubajo finished the 2012–13 season with 54 appearances, three goals and his performances during the campaign were recognised with the club's Young Player of the Year award. ^{[13] [14]}

Now an important member of manager Russell Slade's starting XI, Odubajo played a vital role in the Orient's rise to the top of the League One table during the early months of the 2013–14 season, ^[15] which began with an eight-match winning streak. ^{[16] [17]} Though Orient's table-topping form slowly slipped away by February 2014, ^[17] Odubajo scored intermittently throughout the season and his exploits saw him win the Football League Young Player of the Month award for April 2014. ^{[16] [18]} He salvaged a draw for Orient in the 2014 League One play-off semi-final first leg versus Peterborough United and after a 2–1 victory in the second leg, ^[16] he opened the scoring versus Rotherham United in the final with a "brilliant" 25-yard volley, but the match would end with the Os succumbing to a loss on penalties. ^[19] Odubajo made 57 appearances and scored 12 goals during the 2013–14 season, ^[16] which proved to be his last for the club, as he departed Brisbane Road one month after the defeat. ^[20] During his time with Leyton Orient, Odubajo made 116 appearances and scored 16 goals for the club. ^[21]

St Albans City (loan)

On 8 October 2010, Odubajo signed for Conference South club St Albans City on a one-month work experience loan. ^[22] He made four appearances and scored no goals for the club. ^[23]

Sutton United (loan)

On 13 January 2012, Odubajo joined Conference South club Sutton United on a one-month loan. ^[24] He made three appearances during this spell. ^[25]

Bishop's Stortford (loan)

On 25 February 2012, Odubajo joined Conference North club Bishop's Stortford on a one-month loan. ^[26] He scored a hattrick on his second appearance – a 5–0 win over Droylsden on 3 March – but was injured in the match and did not make any further appearances. ^{[25] [27]}

Brentford

On 27 June 2014, Odubajo joined Championship club Brentford on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, ^[28] effective 1 July 2014. ^[20] BBC Sport reported the fee as being a £1 million club record. ^[29] Despite suffering with a "niggling injury", ^[30] Odubajo scored two goals in a three-match spell in late August and early September 2014. ^[31] After a run in the team on the right wing, injuries to Alan McCormack and Nico Yennaris saw Odubajo take over the right back position in late October. ^[32] He went on to establish himself in the position, though in March 2015 he admitted that he continued to find combining his attacking and defensive duties difficult. ^[33] By the time Brentford's season ended with defeat to Middlesbrough in the 2015 Championship play-off semi-finals, Odubajo had made 48 appearances and three goals. ^[31] He departed Griffin Park in August 2015.

Hull City

On 7 August 2015, Odubajo joined Championship club Hull City on a three-year contract for a £3.5 million fee. ^[34] He was manager Steve Bruce's first-choice right back and made 53 appearances during a successful 2015–16 season, ^{[35] [36]} which finished with victory in the 2016 Championship play-off final to clinch promotion to the Premier League. ^[37] During the 2016–17 pre-season, Odubajo suffered a dislocated kneecap, which caused ligament damage. ^[38] His recovery was delayed by a two fractures to the kneecap in successive incidents and he did not return to first team training until March 2018. ^[39] Later that month, Odubajo played his first match at any level since May 2016, with a 45-minute appearance for the U23 team in a 2–1 victory over Burnley. ^[40] Odubajo turned down the offer of a new contract and departed the club on 30 June 2018. ^{[41] [42]}

Return to Brentford

On 7 August 2018, Odubajo rejoined Championship club Brentford on a free transfer and signed a one-year deal, with the option of a further year. ^[42] He made his second debut for the club with a start in a 3–1 EFL Cup third round defeat to Arsenal on 26 September 2018. ^[43]

Sheffield Wednesday

On 11 July 2019, he signed for Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer. ^[44] He came in for a barrage of online abuse in December 2020 when he high fived a Nottingham Forest player Lewis Grabban after he scored against Wednesday. ^[45]

On 20 May 2021, it was announced that he would leave Sheffield Wednesday at the end of the season, following the expiry of his contract. ^[46]

Queens Park Rangers

On 30 July 2021, Odubajo joined Championship side Queens Park Rangers on a one-year deal following a successful trial. ^[47]

On 20 June 2022, the club announced that Odubajo would depart the club upon the expiration of his contract. ^[48]

Aris

On 8 July 2022, Odubajo joined Greek Super League club Aris on a three-year deal. ^[49]

AEK Athens

On 18 July 2024, Odubajo signed for fellow Greek Super League club AEK Athens on a two-year deal. ^[50]

International career

It was reported in December 2014 that Odubajo had been invited to a training camp with the Nigeria U23 squad, ^[51] which he did not attend. ^[52] He won five caps for England at U20 level, which included four appearances during the 2015 Toulon Tournament. ^[53]

Personal life

Odubajo was born in Greenwich, London. ^[1] He was orphaned at the age of 13, when his mother died of malaria. ^[54] From that age he lived alone with his older brother Tom Bolarinwa, who is also a footballer. He attended Sedgehill School. ^[55]

Career statistics

As of match played 25 November 2021

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Leyton Orient	2010–11 [56]	League One	0	0	—		0	0	0	0	0	0
	2011–12 [8]	League One	3	1	1	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	5	1
	2012–13 [13]	League One	44	2	4	0	1	0	5 [lower-alpha 1]	1	54	3
	2013–14 [16]	League One	46	10	3	0	2	0	6 [lower-alpha 2]	2	57	12
	Total		93	13	8	0	3	0	12	3	116	16
St Albans City (loan)	2010–11 [23]	Conference South	1	0	3	0	—		—		4	0
Sutton United (loan)	2011–12 [25] [57]	Conference South	3	0	—		—		—		3	0
Bishop's Stortford (loan)	2011–12 [25] [58]	Conference North	2	3	—		—		—		2	3
Brentford	2014–15 [31]	Championship	45	3	1	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	49	3
Hull City	2015–16 [36]	Championship	42	0	3	0	5	0	3 [lower-alpha 3]	0	53	0
	2016–17 [59]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2017–18 [60]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		42	0	3	0	5	0	3	0	53	0
Brentford	2018–19 [43]	Championship	30	0	0	0	1	0	—		31	0
Sheffield Wednesday	2019–20 [43]	Championship	22	0	1	0	1	0	—		24	0
	2020–21 [61]	Championship	18	0	1	0	3	0	—		22	0
	Total		40	0	2	0	4	0	0	0	46	0
Queens Park Rangers	2021–22 [62]	Championship	28	0	2	0	3	0	—		33	0
Career total			284	19	19	0	17	0	17	3	337	22

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. Three appearances in Football League Trophy, three appearances and two goals in League One play-offs
3. Appearances in Championship play-offs

Honours

Hull City

• Football League Championship play-offs: 2016 ^[63]

Individual

• Leyton Orient Young Player of the Year: 2012–13 ^[64]
• Leyton Orient Youth Team Player of the Year: 2011–12 ^[6]
• Football League Young Player of the Month: April 2014 ^[18]

References

1. "Moses Odubajo". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
2. "Moses Odubajo". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
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48. "Moses Odubajo to depart". www.qpr.co.uk. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
49. "Ο MOSES ODUBAJO ΣΤΟΝ ΑΡΗ!" [MOSES ODUBAJO ON MARS!]. www.arisfc.com.gr (in Greek). 8 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
50. "Στην ΑΕΚ ο Μόουζες Οντουμπάτζο!" [Moses Odubajo at AEK!]. www.aekfc.gr (in Greek). 18 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
51. "allAfrica.com: Nigeria: I Did Not Decamp Eduok Due to Age Discrepancy, Says Siasia". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
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54. "Brentford's Odubajo no stranger to a challenge". Ealing Times. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
55. "Moses Heads Back To School". Leyton Orient F.C. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
56. "Games played by Moses Odubajo in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
57. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2012). Non-League Club Directory 2013. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 322–323. ISBN   978-1-869833-77-0.
58. Williams; Williams (eds.). Non-League Club Directory 2013. pp. 170–171.
59. "Games played by Moses Odubajo in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
60. "Games played by Moses Odubajo in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
61. "Games played by Moses Odubajo in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
62. "Games played by Moses Odubajo in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
63. Williams, Adam (28 May 2016). "Hull City 1–0 Sheffield Wednesday". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
64. Davies, Jonny. "NEWS: Lisbie Dominates Awards". Leyton Orient F.C. Retrieved 12 April 2017.

External links

• Moses Odubajo at Soccerbase