Isaac Mbenza (born 8 March 1996) is a professional footballer who plays for Charleroi in the Belgian First Division A. Born in France, he has represented Belgium at several youth levels.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Isaac Mbenza[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1996-03-08) 8 March 1996 (age 26) | ||
| Place of birth | Saint-Denis, France | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Charleroi | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005-2011 | ROFC Stockel | ||
| 2011-2012 | FC Brussels | ||
| 2012-2013 | KV Mechelen | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2016 | Valenciennes B | 30 | (3) |
| 2015–2016 | Valenciennes | 48 | (7) |
| 2016–2017 | Standard Liège | 21 | (1) |
| 2017–2019 | Montpellier | 54 | (11) |
| 2018–2019 | → Huddersfield Town (loan) | 22 | (1) |
| 2019–2021 | Huddersfield Town | 41 | (5) |
| 2020 | → Amiens SC (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Qatar | 10 | (0) |
| 2022– | Charleroi | 0 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2013 | Belgium U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2015 | Belgium U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Belgium U21 | 16 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 March 2021 (UTC) | |||
Born in France but living in Belgium since the age of 5,[2] Mbenza started playing at ROFC Stockel at the age of 9 before moving on at the age of 15 to FC Brussels for a season, followed by another season at KV Mechelen before his move to Valenciennes FC.[2]
On 31 January 2017, Mbenza signed for French club Montpellier.[3][4]
On 9 August 2018, Mbenza moved to Premier League club Huddersfield Town on a season-long loan with the obligation of a transfer in the summer of 2019.[5]
He made his debut as a 68th minute substitute in a goalless draw with Cardiff City on 25 August 2018.[5] On 5 May 2019, he scored his only goal in the 2018-19 season, coming as a 60th minute equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United.[6]
Following Huddersfield's relegation to the EFL Championship, Mbenza's loan was made permanent on 9 July 2019 until the end of 2020-21 season, with the club having the option of a further season.[7]
He only made 6 appearances for Huddersfield in the 2019-20 season, and departed on loan to Amiens on 3 Feb 2020 for the remainder of the season.[8]
He featured more under the manager, Carlos Corberàn , who had been appointed in advance of 2020-21 season. He made 37 appearances scoring 5 goals, with 3 coming direct from free kicks in games against Birmingham City,[9] Sheffield Wednesday[10] and Middlesbrough.[11]
On 11 May 2021, Huddersfield exercised their option to extend Mbenza's contract up to the end of the 2021-22 season.[12] But on 6 September, his contract was terminated.[13]
On 14 March 2022, Mbenza signed a 3-month contract with Charleroi, with an option to extend.[14]
Mbenza was born in France and is of Congolese descent, and emigrated to Belgium at a young age.[15][16]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Valenciennes B | 2013–14 | CFA 2 | 10 | 1 | — | 10 | 1 | |||||
| 2014–15 | 18 | 2 | — | 18 | 2 | |||||||
| 2015–16 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||||||
| Total | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 3 | ||
| Valenciennes | 2014–15 | Ligue 2 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| 2015–16 | 35 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 6 | ||
| Total | 48 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 7 | ||
| Standard Liège | 2016–17 | Belgian First Division A | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
| Montpellier | 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 |
| 2017–18 | 38 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 10 | ||
| Total | 54 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 13 | ||
| Huddersfield | 2018–19 | Premier League | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| 2019–20 | Championship | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 170 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 187 | 25 | ||
R. Charleroi S.C. – current squad | |
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