Jeremiah Mullen, a defender with Leeds United Under-21s, has been called up to the Scotland Under-21 squad for the international stage this year due to his reliable performances with Michael Skubala’s young Whites team.
Over the previous two seasons, Mullen has been a consistent member of Skubala’s Under-21 team. This summer, he participated in preseason activities with the senior team. The Scottish youth international played the first forty-five minutes of Leeds’ July friendly against Manchester United at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, Norway, travelling to the city with Daniel Farke and the first team group.
The 19-year-old has advanced on the international scene despite having a plethora of more experienced center-half alternatives available to manager Farke, which has prevented him from making his competitive Whites debut.
Mullen, a former Under-19 international, has now made five appearances for Scot Gemmill’s 21s and is scheduled to play at this level again this month. His most recent appearance for the so-called “Young Team” came in a 1-0 loss to a very skilled Spanish team that included players like Javi Guerra and Gabri Veiga, who are both expected to be associated with La Liga clubs in 2023.
Mullen gave his reflections on his experience thus far ahead of Scotland’s European Championship qualification match versus Hungary U21 this week: “The last game was a tough test against Spain.” The goal is to play against the finest opposition possible at all times.
“We knew it would be a difficult game, but we played strong defence, so maybe we might have won or at least gained some experience from it on another day.
“I believe I was prepared for it, but facing that kind of adversity was undoubtedly a step up. You have to be totally concentrated and engaged throughout the entire game to avoid punishment, as every player in every position was performing at an extremely high level.”
It remains to be seen if Mullen is given the chance to compete against players of a comparable ability at Leeds, but his continued engagement with Scotland’s development setup suggests he is well-liked up north.
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