Henry Chukwuemeka Onyekuru (born 5 June 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Turkish Süper Lig club Adana Demirspor, on loan from Olympiacos, and the Nigeria national team.[citation needed]
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Personal information | ||||||||||
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Full name | Henry Chukwuemeka Onyekuru[1] | |||||||||
Date of birth | (1997-06-05) 5 June 1997 (age 25) | |||||||||
Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | |||||||||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||
Position(s) | Winger | |||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||
Current team |
Adana Demirspor (on loan from Olympiacos) | |||||||||
Number | 7 | |||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||
2010–2015 | Aspire Academy | |||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||
2015–2017 | Eupen | 57 | (28) | |||||||
2017–2019 | Everton | 0 | (0) | |||||||
2017–2018 | → Anderlecht (loan) | 19 | (9) | |||||||
2018–2019 | → Galatasaray (loan) | 31 | (14) | |||||||
2019–2021 | Monaco | 8 | (0) | |||||||
2020 | → Galatasaray (loan) | 10 | (1) | |||||||
2021 | → Galatasaray (loan) | 14 | (5) | |||||||
2021– | Olympiacos | 14 | (0) | |||||||
2022– | → Adana Demirspor (loan) | 12 | (4) | |||||||
National team‡ | ||||||||||
2017– | Nigeria | 15 | (1) | |||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 October 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 January 2022 |
Onyekuru began his football career with the Aspire Academy in 2010, and graduated in 2015 joining their partner club, K.A.S. Eupen.[2] He made his debut for Eupen on 5 September 2015 in a 2–2 tie against K.F.C. Dessel Sport in the Belgian Second Division.[3] Onyekuru helped the team get promoted to the Belgian First Division A in his debut season, and made his professional debut in a 3–0 loss on 30 July 2016 against S.V. Zulte Waregem.[4] After a successful season in the Belgium first division, Onyekuru finished as one of the top scorers in the league, catching the attention of various larger teams in Europe.[5] He finished the 2016–17 season as joint top-scorer with 22 goals, but the trophy was handed to Łukasz Teodorczyk as he scored more away goals than Onyekuru.[6]
On 30 June 2017, Onyekuru joined Everton for £7 million and was immediately sent on loan to Anderlecht.[7] Onyekuru had been handed the number 9 jersey at Anderlecht for the 2017–18 campaign.[8]
Having scored 10 goals in 28 matches for Anderlecht, Onyekuru suffered a knee ligament injury in December which would require surgery. Anderlecht announced surgery would be necessary and that he would be out of action "for several months".[9] In January 2018, it was reported that Onyekuru would return to Anderlecht after rehabilitation and full recovery.[10]
In July 2018, Onyekuru joined Galatasaray on a season-long loan.[11] The loan fee paid to Everton was reported as £700,000.[12] On 20 May 2019, Onyekuru was on the scoresheet for Galatasaray as they defeated title challengers İstanbul Başakşehir 2–1 to secure the Süper Lig championship for the second straight season.[13] The victory also meant that Galatasaray secured the domestic double having defeated Akhisar Belediyespor in the Turkish Cup final the week prior.[13][14][15]
Having failed to ever secure a work permit in the UK, Onyekuru joined AS Monaco on a permanent transfer on 12 August 2019.[16][17] The fee was undisclosed (rumoured to be between £12-£15 million) and Onyekuru signed a five-year deal with the Ligue 1 club.[18]
On 5 January 2020, Onyekuru signed for Galatasaray, his former club, on a six-month loan with no option to buy.[19] He left after his loan ended in June, making a total of twelve appearances and scoring one goal.[20]
On 25 January 2021, Onyekuru once again signed for Galatasaray on a six-month loan, this time with an option to buy.[21][22]
On 2 August 2021, Olympiacos announced the signing of Onyekuru for a four-year deal for an undisclosed amount.[23]
Onyekuru was called up for the Super Eagles camp in May 2017.[24] He made his senior debut for Nigeria in a 3–0 friendly win over Togo on 1 June 2017.[25]
After a strong 2018–19 club season with Galatasaray, Onyekuru was included in Nigeria's final 23-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.[26][27] He played for 12 minutes at the finals, coming on as a late substitute in their 1–2 semi-final defeat to eventual champions Algeria.[28][29]
Onyekuru was invited by the national coach as part of the squad to face Ukraine in an international friendly on the 10 of September 2019.[30][31]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Eupen | 2015–16 | Belgian Second Division | 19 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 6 | ||
2016–17 | Belgian First Division A | 38 | 22 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 41 | 24 | |||
Total | 57 | 28 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 60 | 30 | ||||
Everton | 2017–18 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
Anderlecht (loan) | 2017–18 | Belgian First Division A | 19 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 28 | 10 |
Galatasaray (loan) | 2018–19 | Süper Lig | 31 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 16 |
Monaco | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
Total | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
Galatasaray (loan) | 2019–20 | Süper Lig | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||
2020–21 | Süper Lig | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 5 | |||
Total | 24 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 6 | ||||
Olympiacos | 2021–22 | Super League Greece | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | — | 27 | 1 | |
Adana Demirspor (loan) | 2022-23 | Süper Lig | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
Career total | 156 | 59 | 17 | 5 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 197 | 65 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
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Nigeria | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
2018 | 6 | 0 | |
2019 | 5 | 1 | |
2020 | 0 | 0 | |
2021 | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 14 | 1 |
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
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1. | 22 March 2019 | Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, Nigeria | ![]() | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
Anderlecht
Galatasaray
Olympiacos
Adana Demirspor – current squad | |
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Nigeria squads | |||||||||||||
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