Former Lincoln City academy forward Nathan Odokonyero is reportedly attracting interest from Bristol Rovers, Swindon Town and Crawley Town after a superb start to the season with Salisbury.
The 23-year-old has scored five goals in seven appearances for the National League South side, including a hat-trick in Tuesday night’s 5-1 demolition of Slough Town.
According to Football Lowdown, Bristol Rovers are among the clubs monitoring his progress. Swindon and Crawley are also understood to be tracking a player who was once considered an exciting prospect within our academy. In fairness, it does feel a bit like the rule of three, so it could be agent-led, but even so, it’s a former Imp.
Odokonyero arrived at the Bank after previously spending time with Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion. He had joined Chelsea at the age of seven and played against the likes of Manchester United, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona. A move to Brighton followed when he was 13, with the forward reportedly scoring 37 goals from the wing during his final youth season.
Odokonyero subsequently joined the Imps and featured regularly for our under-18 side. He could play as a central striker or attacking midfielder and quickly demonstrated his eye for goal.
He scored against Rotherham United during our FA Youth Cup run and finished as the leading scorer in the academy with a reported 14 goals during the 2019/20 campaign.
We first featured him in January 2021 after he received a provisional call-up to the Uganda squad for the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations. Odokonyero qualifies for Uganda through his father, Amos, and was one of only two England-based players selected in the initial squad. Paperwork delays ultimately prevented him from travelling to the tournament, but he responded impressively on the pitch for Lincoln.
A few weeks later, he scored three times as our under-18s defeated Scunthorpe United 3-2. He opened the scoring after five minutes, added another shortly before half-time and completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 71st minute.
Prolific Record Since Leaving The Imps
Odokonyero did not make a senior appearance for Lincoln City, but he has subsequently built an impressive goalscoring record in non-league football. His breakthrough came with Bognor Regis Town, where he scored 25 times in 34 appearances during the 2022/23 season. That followed a double-figure return during the previous campaign and earned him a move to National League side Ebbsfleet United.
First-team opportunities proved limited at Stonebridge Road, leading to a loan move to Tonbridge Angels during the second half of the 2023/24 season. He scored nine league goals in only 14 appearances before returning to Ebbsfleet. A significant injury then interrupted his progress, but moves to Worthing and Salisbury have allowed him to rebuild his momentum.
He joined Salisbury from Worthing for an undisclosed fee during the summer and has made an immediate impression. His hat-trick against Slough accounted for three of his five goals this season, with Caine Bradbury and Jaiden Bartolo completing a convincing 5-1 victory. That result left Salisbury ninth in National League South, only two points behind early leaders Tonbridge Angels.
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