Gideon Kodua, captain of West Ham United U18s, has won the Dylan Tombides Award for the 2022/23 season.
Kodua has had a fantastic season in Kevin Keen’s youthful side, captaining the squad to 27 wins in 32 games played this season, a run of form that saw the team achieve top spot in the U18 Premier League South and lift the FA Youth Cup for the fourth time in West Ham history.
The 18-year-old’s goalscoring efforts were critical to that accomplishment, with Kodua scoring 16 times in all competitions, including 12 in the U18 Premier League South and three in the FA Youth Cup – including a magnificent 35-yard lobbed finish in the final 5-1 victory over Arsenal.
Kodua’s excellent play earned him his first appearances in Mark Robson’s development team this season. Kodua has appeared seven times in all competitions for the U21s this season, having made his debut in the Premier League International Cup match against PSV at home in October. The attacker would later make his Premier League 2 debut against Blackburn Rovers in a 2-2 draw.
The Dylan Tombides award is bestowed to the Academy of Football’s finest scholar each year and is named after the late West Ham United and Australia U23 forward Tombides, who tragically died in April 2014 at the age of 20.
