MATCH OF THE TAY
Edun’s starred with Mount for England... but Lincoln promotion would top it all
TAYO EDUN grew up playing for England with Trent Alexander Arnold, Mason Mount and Aaron Ramsdale – and still dreams of joining them in the Premier League one day.
Today, the former Fulham prospect can help Lincoln City back into English football’s second tier for the first time since 1961.
Victory over Blackpool in the League One Play-off Final at Wembley would complete a huge achievement for Michael Appleton’s men.
London-born Edun represented England from Under-17 level through to the Under-20s during his time at Craven
Cottage before joining
Lincoln in January 2020.
The versatile 23-year-old, who has impressed at leftback and midfield this season, said: “Playing for England set me up for my career – the players I played alongside, the managers I worked with.
“That, and my time at Fulham, helped to make me the person and the player I am today.
“It was an unreal honour to play for England and I feel I’ve kept a part of that in me. “I played with guys like AlexanderArnold, Mount (above) and Ramsdale and still keep in touch with them.
“So when Chelsea reached the Champions League Final, I sent Mason a message congratulating him – and now I’m in a big final myself. It’s crazy to think what we could achieve, but it’s why we all play the game.
“As players, we’ve said it would be a mad achievement not only for us as individuals but for Lincoln City.
“We’ve had that goal to aim for all season and now it’s there for us, on the line.”
Edun made just two first-team appearances for Fulham, both in the Championship, and he explained: “It wasn’t anger I felt, it was just frustration because I wanted an opportunity so badly.
“I was so hungry but just being around guys like Scott Parker and Tom Cairney still grew me as a player. Looking back, I can see that now.
“The experience helped me massively and getting promotion with Lincoln would take me back to the level where I started my career. “That’s the biggest goal for me and the manager told me when he first came here that I was good enough to play in the Championship.
“I’ve thought to myself, ‘How good would it be to make history with Lincoln and achieve my goal at the same time?’ I’d love to win promotion, stamp my mark on the Championship and maybe even play in the Premier League one day.”
Edun grew up in north London and said: “My dad would take me to Arsenal games as a kid.
“Watching Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Ashley Cole and Cesc Fabregas was massively inspiring.”