Canada just stole a Premier League player away from England and he could play in the FIFA World Cup
Canada may have just landed its next future soccer star, a little over a year from the country hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
As first reported by The Athletic’s Joshua Kloke, Bournemouth forward Daniel Jebbison has offered his services to Canada, after initially representing England at various youth levels.
Jebbison, a 21-year-old forward originally born in Oakville, Ont., has played in eight Premier League matches this season for Bournemouth after spending the first half of the year on loan at Watford. While playing for Sheffield United in 2021, he became the youngest player to score in their first Premier League start, doing so at the age of 17.
Kloke added that former Canada coach John Herdman had also previously tried to recruit Jebbison during his tenure with the team, which lasted from 2018 to 2023.
Jebbison previously played for England at the U20 World Cup and the U-19 European championships. Under FIFA rules, players can switch their allegiance to a new country if they’re what’s known as a dual national, meaning that they have citizenship or family heritage of multiple countries from either their parents or grandparents and have played less than three games for the senior national team.
Jebbison could be eligible to join Canada as soon as the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals in March, should the necessary FIFA paperwork be handled in time. Canada Soccer has placed him on the provisional list for the tournament, they announced shortly after Kloke’s report.
While Jebbison hasn’t exactly lit up the scoresheet — he’s scored just 11 league and international goals since turning pro in 2020 — his potential is clearly recognized by the fact that he’s getting minutes in arguably the world’s top soccer league.
It’s been a busy weekend of recruitment for Canada coach Jesse Marsch and the Canadian national team. Marsch was in attendance to see Jebbison on Saturday in the side’s 1-0 loss to Wolverhampton, where he came on as a late substitute in the 89th minute.
On Friday, it was announced that forward Promise David (no relation to Canadian striker Jonathan David) had also committed to Canada.
David currently plays for Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise and was born in Brampton but had previously represented Nigeria’s youth teams.
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