'He has massive potential': Jesse Marsch making a future bet with Daniel Jebbison's CanMNT call-up

It’s been a long time coming. 

Nearly four years after making his breakthrough in the English Premier League, where he scored for Sheffield United against Everton at just 17 years old to become the youngest player to do so in their first EPL start, Daniel Jebbison is set to do something many Canadians have hoped he’d one day do. 

That, of course, is to represent the Canadian Men’s National Team, as the Oakville-born forward was included in Canada’s squad for the first time this week after filing a one-time switch from England earlier this year.  

Certainly, it’s been a rollercoaster journey since he scored that memorable goal for Sheffield United on May 16th, 2021, but at just 21, he’ll now hope this is the start of an important chapter in his career. 

Now at Premier League side AFC Bournemouth, he’s finally committed his future to Canada, having represented England at the U18, U19, and U20 levels, playing in the 2022 U19 Euros and the 2023 U20 World Cup. 

“Daniel Jebbison was somebody that I knew from my time in England, and when I knew that he had potential to be a Canadian national team player, he was one of the first dual nationals that I reached out to,” CanMNT head coach, Jesse Marsch, said of Jebbison this week. “We’ve had a lot of good dialogue over the past 10 months, and we've gotten to the point where we finally have secured him in his one-time transfer.”

He faces an uphill battle for minutes with Canada - he joins at a time where Jonathan David has become one of the best forwards in the world, Cyle Larin still plays a key role in Jesse Marsch’s team, Promise David is having a breakout season in Europe, and the likes of Tani Oluwaseyi, Jacen Russell-Rowe, Charles-Andreas Brym, Theo Bair and more are pushing for minutes. For someone who has logged barely over 1000 minutes since the start of 22/23, it’ll be tough for him to earn minutes while competing against that group. 

At the same time, there’s a reason why many were hoping he could one day play for Canada - he’s a high-potential player with a big ceiling, one on the cusp of breaking out at the highest level. 

There’s a reason why Bournemouth gambled on signing him last summer, and given the success they’ve had in producing attackers in recent years, it’ll be exciting to see what their plan for him is going forward.

The big thing, however, will be for him to just get minutes under his belt, something he’s struggled to consistently do since his big moment with Sheffield United at the end of the 20/21 season.

In 21/22, he spent half a season on loan at Burton Albion in League 1, where he did well to score nine times in 23 appearances, but he struggled for minutes when he was recalled to Sheffield United for the second half of their campaign down in the Championship, playing barely over 200 minutes in nine appearances. Then, in 22/23, he played just over 650 minutes in 19 appearances, scoring two goals and adding one assist as Sheffield United pushed to get back to the Premier League. 

Unfortunately, his return to the Premier League didn’t go to plan - he made just one appearance in 23/24 as he dealt with a blood clot, which was a scary health situation for any young player to deal with. 

The good news for Jebbison? Despite that scare, which came in a year where his contract expired, Bournemouth still gave him a chance and gave him a good look on their preseason tour ahead of the 24/25 campaign, while also giving him Premier League minutes in August. 

From there, they sent him on loan to Championship side Watford, and while that didn’t go to plan, as he failed to score in 13 appearances as he regained match fitness, Bournemouth still had the faith to recall him and place him back into their squad as they dealt with an injury crisis in the attack. 

So far, he’s been solid in his return to the club, too - he’s made nine appearances in 2025, with six in the EPL and three in the FA Cup, scoring twice in his FA Cup matches, starting to look more like himself in those recent stints. 

“I think Jebb(ison) has been helping us,” Bournemouth manager, Andoni Iraola, said after Jebbison scored against Everton in the FA Cup last month. “Probably he has had the first part of the season where he has suffered because he hasn't been playing at Watford and he has come with a clear mind of, okay, whatever they need me for, I'm ready to help.”

Because of that, Jesse Marsch made the trip to see one of his matches last month, likely with the idea of convincing him to commit his allegiances to Canada ahead of next year's World Cup. Given that news of Jebbison’s switch came out a few days later, that pitch appeared to be quite successful, too. 

Now, it’ll be interesting to see what Jebbison can do over the next 16 months. Mainly, his big goal will be to break through at Bournemouth, but the door is open for him to play a big role for Canada, who are looking for reliable names to step up and provide goalscoring depth that aren’t named Jonathan David. 

If Jebbison can find form in the Premier League, one has to imagine he can become a key piece in this Canadian team going forward. A tall forward at 6’3”, he’s got good agility and technical skills for someone his height, as he’s able to score deft goals with both feet, making him a big threat in the box. 

The big challenge for him, however, will be to round out his game, both defensively and in terms of the build-up play, but that’s why it’s exciting to see him at Bournemouth, where they play a fluid, attacking system where all of their front four can interchange and play off each other, while not neglecting any of their defensive responsibilities. 

In the immediate future, however, look for him to try and play a role for Canada in this camp. It’s a big vote of confidence from Marsch to include him right away, so don’t be surprised if he makes his debut off the bench later this month, where he’ll look to show why many have looked forward to this day for a long time. 

Perhaps, even if on form, this might be a surprise inclusion, given Jebbison's potential, Marsch might also be betting on him benefitting from what can be dubbed the ‘Bombito’ or ‘Ahmed’ effect - playing for this Canadian team seems to push players to another level right now. Bombito, Ahmed, Nathan Saliba and Mathieu Choinière all benefitted from that in 2024, and Marsch would be ecstatic if Jebbison can follow a similar path in 2025, finding a way to hit his high ceiling. 

“Daniel has massive potential, we can see that,” Marsch said. “He's still a little raw and developing into the potential of what he can be, but his mentality (and desire) to learn, grow and push to be part of this national team are all at a really high level, and I'm super excited to get him involved. Is he 90-minute, game fit, game sharp, and all of that yet? No.”

“But I do think that he can be a really important player for us moving forward, certainly when looking at 2026, so it was important to get him acclimated and assimilated into our group for me as quickly as possible.”

No doubt, though, one thing is for sure - Canada’s depth is growing by the day, and this likely won’t be the last high-profile commitment we see, with Jebbison potentially representing the sort of pull this Canadian team will have going forward. 

For a team already starting to burst at the seams with depth, that’s an exciting prospect, especially if players like Jebbison start to reach their potential, something that Marsch will certainly be pushing him to do, a big reason why he pushed for this commitment.