The youngster is keen to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious relative, who ranks among world football’s top superstars
After being released by Chelsea, Ronald Sobowale has had trials at Cardiff City, Brentford and Barnsley – as well as time with non-league sides – in the hopes of following in the footsteps of his cousin, David Alaba.
Not Austria-born but rather a Londoner, Sobowale’s father is the brother of Bayern Munich star Alaba’s father, and Sobowale boasts the same Nigerian heritage as the left-back.
Alaba was Austria’s youngest ever player upon making his debut for the national team at just 18 years old, with Bayern scouts having spotted him playing in Austria Wien’s academy before signing him up to the Bavarian Bundesliga giants.
By the age of 21 – Sobowale’s age at present – Alaba was already a Bayern regular, but that has not stopped young Ronald.
Barnsley and Cardiff have recently shown interest in recalling the 21-year-old, while he has also attracted interest from Championship clubs Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion, who are considering calling him in for trials.
The prestigious part of Sobowale’s CV to date is his time spent at Chelsea’s world class academy facility at Cobham Training Centre, where he was part of the same group as Tammy Abraham and Dominic Solanke, now at Aston Villa and Liverpool, respectively.
He was let go in part due to his size but he has since put time into bulking up. In the meantime, he has continued to play regular football in non-league with both Molesey and Walton Casuals FC.
Sobowale is keen to earn a professional deal, as he takes part in trials across England after being spotted again playing for the AG Football Academy, where he scored twice against a Brentford B team.
This earned him trials at a variety of clubs and upon joining Premier League side Cardiff City for their game against Vancouver Whitecaps, he scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win.
Most recently, he earned a Premier League 2 start for Barnsley after being vetted first in a friendly match. In the league match against Barnsley’s Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United, he scored in a 1-1 draw, which is expected to lead to a recall for another trial.
Watch this space.
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