Moses Adeshina Ayoola Junior Odubajo (born 28 July 1993) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

club

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

. He is a product of the

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

and represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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level.

Club career

Leyton Orient

Early years

, Odubajo began his career at age 14 with local club

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

and spent time with the club on trial, before leaving football behind at the age of 13, following the death of his mother. He returned to Millwall following a break from the game, but failed to win a scholarship deal. Odubajo was recommend by the Lions to

and went on trial with the club. He was offered a scholarship by youth team manager

Wayne Burnett Wayne Burnett (born 4 September 1971) is an English football coach and former footballer who is manager of Tottenham Hotspur under-23's team. As a player Burnett was a midfielder from 1989 until 2004 notably playing in the Football League for ...

, though Burnett later changed his mind about the deal. 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. 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. Odubajo was an unused substitute for the first team on 11 occasions during the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

season and signed a one-year professional contract with the club on 29 April 2011. He also won Orient's Youth Team Player of the Year award. 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 The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

first round

East London derby The East London derby is a football match that takes place between two of either Dagenham & Redbridge, Leyton Orient and West Ham United. This derby rarely takes place because, as is the case with the Dockers Derby, the clubs are usually in diffe ...

versus Dagenham & Redbridge on 7 September 2011. Initially named as a substitute, Odubajo replaced Elliot Omozusi after 64 minutes in a match which ended with a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. He scored a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

in the shoot-out, which Orient lost 14–13. 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 Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. In the match, he scored his first senior goal with a "stunning" winner in a 2–1 victory. The 25-yard strike earned him the club's Goal of the Season award. On 25 June 2012, Odubajo signed a new one-year deal with the Os.

First team breakthrough

Featuring mainly as a right back during the opening months of the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season, Odubajo made regular substitute appearances and sporadic starts before finally breaking into the starting lineup in October 2012. By then being increasingly being utilised as a right winger, he put an end to the transfer speculation by signing a new two-year contract in February 2013. 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. Now an important member of manager

Russell Slade Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently managerial consultant of League Two club Stevenage. Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered professional ...

'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, which began with an eight-match winning streak. Though Orient's table-topping form slowly slipped away by February 2014, Odubajo scored intermittently throughout the season and his exploits saw him win the

Football League Young Player of the Month The EFL Young Player of the Month is an award for young players in all three divisions of the English Football League. To be eligible players must be under-21 or turn 21 during the current season. It was first awarded in December 2009. Victor Mose ...

award for April 2014. He salvaged a draw for Orient in the 2014 League One play-off semi-final first leg versus

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

and after a 2–1 victory in the second leg, he opened the scoring versus

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

with a "brilliant" 25-yard volley, but the match would end with the Os succumbing to a loss on penalties. Odubajo made 57 appearances and scored 12 goals during the 2013–14 season, which proved to be his last for the club, as he departed Brisbane Road one month after the defeat. During his time with Leyton Orient, Odubajo made 116 appearances and scored 16 goals for the club.

St Albans City (loan)

On 8 October 2010, Odubajo signed for Conference South club St Albans City on a one-month work experience

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

. He made four appearances and scored no goals for the club.

Sutton United (loan)

On 13 January 2012, Odubajo joined Conference South club

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional football club in Sutton, South London, England, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles so ...

on a one-month loan. He made three appearances during this spell.

Bishop's Stortford (loan)

On 25 February 2012, Odubajo joined

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

club Bishop's Stortford on a one-month loan. He scored a

hattrick A hat-trick (commonly known as a hat trick), in various sports, means achieving three goals, three wickets in three deliveries, etc. in a single match. Hat trick, hat-trick or hattrick may refer to: * "Hat Trick" (''Once Upon a Time''), an episod ...

on his second appearance – a 5–0 win over

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the ...

on 3 March – but was injured in the match and did not make any further appearances.

Brentford

On 27 June 2014, Odubajo joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club Brentford on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, effective 1 July 2014.

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

reported the fee as being a £1 million club record. Despite suffering with a "niggling injury", Odubajo scored two goals in a three-match spell in late August and early September 2014. After a run in the team on the right wing, injuries to

Alan McCormack Alan McCormack (born 10 January 1984) is an Irish football coach and former professional player who played as a right-back or midfielder. He is an academy coach at club Luton Town. He began his career at Preston North End and later played fo ...

and Nico Yennaris saw Odubajo take over the right back position in late October. 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. By the time Brentford's season ended with defeat to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

in the 2015 Championship play-off semi-finals, Odubajo had made 48 appearances and three goals. He departed Griffin Park in August 2015.

Hull City

On 7 August 2015, Odubajo joined Championship club

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

on a three-year contract for a £3.5 million fee. He was manager Steve Bruce's first-choice right back and made 53 appearances during a successful 2015–16 season, which finished with victory in the 2016 Championship play-off final to clinch promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

. During the 2016–17

pre-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

, Odubajo suffered a dislocated kneecap, which caused ligament damage. 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. 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 Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

. Odubajo turned down the offer of a new contract and departed the club on 30 June 2018.

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. 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.

Sheffield Wednesday

On 11 July 2019 he signed for Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer. He came in for a barrage of online abuse in December 2020 when he high fived a Nottingham Forest player

Lewis Grabban Lewis James Grabban (born 12 January 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker. He was called up to the Jamaica squad in 2015 but remains uncapped. Early and personal life Grabban's maternal grandparents were Windrush ...

after he scored against Wednesday. 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.

Queens Park Rangers

On 30 July 2021, Odubajo joined

side

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

on a one-year deal following a successful trial.

International career

It was reported in December 2014 that Odubajo had been invited to a training camp with the Nigeria U23 squad, which he did not attend. He won five caps for England at

level, which included four appearances during the 2015 Toulon Tournament.

Personal life

Odubajo was born in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, London. He was

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

ed at the age of 13, when his mother died of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. From that age he lived alone with his older brother Tom Bolarinwa, who is also a footballer. He attended Sedgehill School.

Career statistics

Honours

Hull City *

Football League Championship play-offs The English Football League Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Individual *

Young Player of the Year:

*Leyton Orient Youth Team Player of the Year: 2011–12 *

: April 2014

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Odubajo, Moses 1993 births Living people Footballers from Greenwich English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Greece England men's youth international footballers Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football wingers Leyton Orient F.C. players St Albans City F.C. players Sutton United F.C. players Bishop's Stortford F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players National League (English football) players Super League Greece players English Football League players Premier League players English sportspeople of Nigerian descent