Scotland Under-21 forward Dire Mebude finally finding his feet at Westerlo

Scotland Under-21 forward Dire Mebude is hoping his first goal at club level for more than a year can signal an upturn in his fortunes at Westerlo.

The 21-year-old joined the Belgian top-flight club from Manchester City in 2023 but admitted “it’s been a bit up and down” and “been tough for me to really settle in properly, and tough for me to adapt”.

Mebude has spent time on loan at Bristol City and Hamburg over the past couple of seasons after struggling to establish himself at his parent club.

The striker is yet to start a game for Westerlo this season but marked his seventh substitute appearance by scoring the second goal in a 2-0 win over OH Leuven ahead of joining up with the national team this week for a Euro 2027 qualification double-header at home to Gibraltar on Thursday and away to Azerbaijan next Tuesday.

“It’s been a bit up and down,” he said of his time in Belgium. “I’ve had a few good moments, a few bad moments. I’d like to get more game time, that’s one thing I’m pushing for.

“Right now I’d say I’m in a good position, I’m really pushing, so hopefully that breakthrough can come now.

“Getting the goal on Saturday really helped. I’m happy for the manager putting trust in me in the game, and it was a really good moment for me to score. It was a massive relief for me, and hopefully now that breakthrough is coming and the goals can keep coming.

“I’m enjoying my time in Belgium now. I’d say this season I’m actually enjoying it. I’m starting to really settle in, so hopefully this is the season I can stay there for the full season and push, and yeah, we’ll see what comes after that.”

Mebude is relishing being of the senior players in the Scotland Under-21 squad.

“Now I’m one of the oldest players in the group, which has never really been the case, but it’s a good group of lads and a really talented group, so hopefully we can now push on and get some results,” he added.

“There’s a lot of players like Kieron (Bowie), Ben (Gannon-Doak), Tommy (Conway), Lennon (Miller), Max (Johnston) and Connor (Barron) who have shown that if you work hard and you take your chance, then there is a pathway to the full Scotland team.”