Wolves star Leon Chiwome making his mark for his country
Wolves have a rising star on their hands who is now making his mark on the international scene.
This season, Hugo Bueno and Joe Hodge have shone for the first team as the latest in a number of academy products that have risen through the ranks.
The pathway is there and Leon Chiwome is hoping to become the next star to grace the Molineux turf.
For now, however, the striker is making waves for his country. On Saturday January 14, just four days after his 17th birthday, Chiwome scored a hat-trick in just 48 minutes for England under-17s in their 6-0 win over Germany.
He notched his first two in the 27th and 41st minutes, before scoring his and England’s third just three minutes after the restart.
The teenager, who has a British mother and Zimbabwean father, was named in The Guardian’s list of most promising Premier League youngsters in 2022 – a list that names one rising talent from each Premier League team to look out for.
In the last four years, Owen Farmer, Kamran Kandola, Chem Campbell and Jackson Smith have also been named.
Of those four, Campbell and Smith are now part of the first team group and Wolves have high hopes about Chiwome’s future at the club.
Chiwome was born in Brighton and eventually made a move to AFC Wimbledon, where he only lasted a year before Wolves swooped in.
The attackers’ academy manager at Wimbledon Michael Hamilton, at the time of his exit, said: “For Leon to join a Premier League club, following the departures of other players and staff to higher levels, is a measure of the quality and potential we’ve developed here. Leon has applied himself correctly since day one, and he has huge potential. If he continues to apply himself, there’s every chance of him fulfilling his ambitions in the future.
“We wish Leon every success and we will be monitoring his progress closely. Though he wasn’t here long, his potential was obvious from the outset.”
Wolves put a lot of effort and resources into their academy and have seen players make the step up to senior level.
Chiwome is the latest the catch the eye and the club expect him to take further steps forward in the next few years.
He can take inspiration from Nathan Fraser. The striker, who is also 17, made the step up to the under-21s from the under-18s this season.
Academy manager Jonathan Hunter-Barrett said: “What we saw in him (Chiwome) was an excellent profile for a centre-forward who is big, strong and quick. He’s very keen to learn and get on the ball, and he knows where the back of the net is.”
What Wolves have on their hands is an athletic forward with all of the attributes to succeed in men’s football. The youngster even trained in track and field sports during his most formative years.
He has impressed for the club’s under-18s this season, played for the under-21s in the Papa Johns Trophy and had some opportunities to train with the first team.
It is an easy comparison to make, but Wolves’ last stand-out England under-17 performer was Morgan Gibbs-White, who won the under-17 World Cup with his country in 2017 and left Wolves for Nottingham Forest last summer in a big money move.
Anything close to replicating that will prove to be a financial boost for Wolves, while the club hope he will go on to become the next star having his name sung among the Molineux masses.
