Ayodeji Sotona (born 7 December 2002) is an Irish footballer currently playing as a forward for Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock, on loan from French club Nice.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ayodeji Sotona[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2002-12-07) 7 December 2002 (age 19) | ||
| Place of birth | Waterford, Republic of Ireland[1] | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team |
Kilmarnock (on loan from Nice) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Mullingar Athletic | |||
| 2016–2020 | Manchester United | ||
| 2020–2022 | Nice | ||
| 2022 | → Brentford (youth loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022– | Nice | 0 | (0) |
| 2022– | → Kilmarnock (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2017 | Republic of Ireland U15 | 2 | (1) |
| 2018 | Republic of Ireland U16 | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:04, 28 May 2022 (UTC) | |||
Sotona was born in Waterford, but moved to Mullingar as a child, where he joined local side Mullingar Athletic.[2] At a young age, he joined the Mullingar Harriers Athletic Club, picking up several provincial and national sprinting medals, including an All-Ireland bronze medal in 2013.[2]
At the age of 13, he began attracting attention from English sides Manchester City and Manchester United, eventually signing with the latter.[3] While at Manchester United, Sotona was named as the club's fastest player, ahead of first team members Diogo Dalot, Marcus Rashford and Daniel James.[4] After four years with the club, in which he trained with the first team, he rejected the offer of a three-year extension to his contract, and left the club as a free agent in September 2020.[5]
After a phone call with Patrick Vieira, who was managing Nice at the time, Sotona decided to join the French side at the expiration of his contract with Manchester United.[3][6] Vieira had promised first-team football, but after he was sacked in December 2020, new manager Adrian Ursea assigned Sotona to the reserves.[3] With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting the footballing schedule, he struggled for game time, and when a return to England with Brentford presented itself in January 2022, Sotona took the opportunity, and joined on a six-month loan deal.[7]
On 9 August 2022, Sotona signed for Scottish club Kilmarnock on a season-long loan.[8]
Sotona is eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland, Nigeria and England at international level.[2] He has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-15 and under-16 level.[9][10]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | League cup[lower-alpha 2] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United U23 | 2019–20 | — | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Nice | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kilmarnock B (loan) | 2022–23 | — | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Kilmarnock (loan) | 2022–23 | Scottish Premiership | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
Notes
Kilmarnock F.C. – current squad | |
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