Leon Chiwome made his first-team Wolves before the international break – and the talented youngster has now experienced another very proud moment.
On March 16, Chiwome was handed his maiden appearance for Wolves by Gary O’Neil in the FA Cup quarter-final against Coventry City.
He replaced Nathan Fraser, who had had a tough afternoon leading the line.
Chiwome gave a good account of himself and put himself about, potentially making himself an option for O’Neil moving forward.
Over the international break, Chiwome has been with the England U18s – and yesterday he scored the winning goal in a cup final for the Young Lions…
Wolves striker Leon Chiwome scores winner for England U18s in U18 Pinatar Super Cup
England’s U18s had already secured a 2-1 victory over Czechia last Wednesday and drew 0-0 with Germany on Friday, heading into Monday’s match with the Netherlands.
So confidence was relatively high heading into the Pinatar Super Cup final against the Dutch.
Tom Curtis’ side got another 2-1 win, with Leo Black and Chiwome grabbing the goals.
Black opened the scoring, slotting home just before half-time after some good combination play.
The Young Lions then doubled their lead through Chiwome. The Wolves starlet, who had come on as a substitute, ‘expertly’ glanced a header into the corner from a cross from the left-hand side from Ishé Samuels-Smith.
Moments later the Netherlands pulled one back, but England held out for victory in the mini-tournament.
A big moment for Chiwome
It’s a great period for Chiwome, who will surely be really growing in confidence now.
It must have been an amazing feeling making his debut for the Wolves first-team in an FA Cup quarter-final. And to then score a winning goal in a cup final for the England U18s must have put him on cloud nine.
Chiwome, described as a player with an ‘amazing’ profile by academy manager Jonathan Hunter-Barrett,, has worked very hard in the academy to get to this point.
He must now be really growing in confidence and hopefully, he can kick on in the coming months.
He will definitely be under the microscope. Obviously, Wolves are depleted at the moment, and it’s possible he could be in line for more minutes under O’Neil.
With Wolves likely to push again for a new striker in the summer, it may be that the club consider sending him out on loan next season. But if he shows enough between now and the end of the season, he may well be kept around with the first-team.