A 20-year-old man will today appear in court charged with murdering Dagenham teenager Joel Adesina.

Jobless George Phillips, of Pitfield Street, Hoxton, was charged over 15-year-old Joel’s death yesterday.

The keen footballer died after being stabbed in Padbury Court, off Bethnal Green Road, Bethnal Green, on December 5.

Phillips will appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court.

Meanwhile the 22-year-old man arrested on Monday night has been released on bail.

Earlier this month Bardag Yellows under-16s coach Ricky Downes led tributes to the youngster, who he described as a fast-paced winger who could have made a career in professional football.

“Even just from the six or eight months that I’ve known him, he has touched my life,” Ricky said. “He was bubbly, cheeky, all the attributes in a young man that you could have wanted. He was so full of fun and he has been cut down in the prime of his life.”

A schoolfriend, who said Joel was one of his closest friends, used to play football with him at the Gascoigne Estate most Fridays.

“Joel was funny and he had a lot of pride,” he said. “He was very confident and always did anything for his friends. He will be missed a lot.

“I felt quite sick when I found out [about his death] – it just came out of nowhere. I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.”

Another former schoolfriend described Joel as a “good, fun guy”.

“He was always fun to be around and joking about,” he said. “He was one of the good ones.”

In a statement, Eastbury School headteacher David Dickson said the whole community was grieving “the sad loss of a young man with his whole life in front of him”.