Three more years of security at Rangers.
Daily tuition from Jermain Defoe, with the goal of breaking into Steven Gerrard’s title-winning team.
And staying close to his tight-knit family in Glasgow.
That was the huge carrot dangling in front of Dapo Mebude when he was offered a new deal at Ibrox last summer.
Most teenagers wouldn’t even think twice. But when he weighed up Rangers’ vision for him, compared to where HE wanted to be by 2023, it just didn’t match up.
And that’s why the young striker took the biggest gamble of his life to reject the offer and move on.
Mebude owes Rangers plenty. They took him into their academy as a 10-year-old and nurtured him for the best part of a decade.
Gerrard gave him his first-team debut at 17 against Kilmarnock in May 2019.
And the education he got from the likes of Defoe and Alfredo Morelos was priceless.
The former Spurs and England striker is still giving him one-to-one advice now.
It would have been easy for Mebude to hang around. Instead he took a risk that he believes will pay off with him eventually playing in the Premier League.
When he left Rangers, Watford signed him up on a two-year deal with another two-year option.
After a pre-season mixing it with the likes of Tom Cleverley, Ismaila Sarr and Moussa Sissoko, he went on loan to Wimbledon where he’s already scored twice.
Even though his family is still in Scotland, Mebude is now closer to where he was born.
After growing up in Peckham, then Kent, his Nigerian parents Anthony and Victoria moved to Glasgow and settled.
After being influenced by older brother Ade, he immersed himself in football from an early age.
His younger sibling, Dire, is also a professional and left Rangers for
Premier League champions Manchester City in 2020.
Dapo says: “My dad likes to say he was a good footballer but he’s certainly a big football fan.
“And my mum used to play basketball when she was young.
“My athletic side came from her but it was my dad who got me and my brothers into football.
“All I remember from being in London as a boy was going to school and playing football with my brothers.”
Mebude calls Glasgow home. And that was just one reason why that life-changing decision to leave Ibrox was so hard to make.
He said: “It was always going to be hard leaving Rangers. I was there for nine years.
“I spoke to them just after lockdown and the plan they pictured for me in the next three years was different to what I saw myself doing.
“There were times when I wondered if I was making the right decision.
“But it came to a point where we both realised that our views on my development for the next three seasons were different.
“It was the right time to leave but a tough decision. I always pictured myself playing every week at Ibrox.
“But what I heard from the club was different to what I wanted to do.
“Making my debut for Rangers will live with me forever. It was the best day of my career so far. My family was at Kilmarnock, even my next door neighbour was there!”
So why didn’t the youngster kick on from there under Gerrard and get more chances to impress?
A mixture of rotten luck and also the club’s desperation to secure a first league title in a decade and stop Celtic’s bid for 10-in-a-row were key factors, says the youngster.
The Scotland youth player, who is confident without being cocky, said: “It’s hard to make it anywhere as a footballer but even more so at a huge club like Rangers.
“And especially due to the circumstances of having to win the league and stop 10-in-a-row.
“The boys respected that. We knew that was the priority. But it definitely made it harder to break through.
“I probably feel I deserved more of a chance. I believe I could have made an impact in the first team.
“But unfortunate stuff happened to me at key moments. After my debut, I went to the pre-season camp in Portugal with the first team ahead of a European qualifier against St Joseph’s of Gibraltar.
“It was 6-0 in the first leg and I was going to be involved in the return game but got injured a few days before.
“I also went to Dubai in January and our next game was in the cup at Ibrox against Stranraer.
“But I caught glandular fever and couldn’t play in that either.
“So those moments went against me. If I could have taken my chance in those games, who knows what might have happened?
“But I still feel there should have been more opportunities for me. I feel stronger for it, though. I’m in a good place now.”
That place is Vicarage Road where Spanish boss Xisco has been sacked but he immediately involved Mebude in Watford’s summer training camp.
The move to Wimbledon is geared to further his development and lead to him being part of the Hornets’ Premier League squad.
He said: “Rangers is where you want to be as a young player, being exposed to quality every single day.
“So I’ve learned a lot from a young age which I’ve taken to Watford.
“I feel like an experienced head at 20 years old. But I haven’t played the amount of games I wanted to.
“To sign for a club like Watford was a bit surreal on my first day walking through the stadium.
“I was so encouraged by Watford’s vision for me. Now I have to show why I deserve to be here.
“I’m enjoying it at Wimbledon. I want to develop as a player here and impact games by contributing goals and assists. And hopefully Watford are watching.”
