Lukas Nmecha (born 14 December 1998) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the Germany national team.
![]() Nmecha with Manchester City in 2017 | ||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Lukas Nmecha[1] | |||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1998-12-14) 14 December 1998 (age 23)[2] | |||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Hamburg, Germany | |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3] | |||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Forward, winger | |||||||||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||||||||
Current team | VfL Wolfsburg | |||||||||||||||
Number | 10 | |||||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
2007–2017 | Manchester City | |||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
2017–2021 | Manchester City | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2018–2019 | → Preston North End (loan) | 41 | (3) | |||||||||||||
2019–2020 | → VfL Wolfsburg (loan) | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2020 | → Middlesbrough (loan) | 11 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2020–2021 | → Anderlecht (loan) | 37 | (18) | |||||||||||||
2021– | VfL Wolfsburg | 37 | (12) | |||||||||||||
National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
2013 | England U16 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2014–2015 | England U17 | 10 | (2) | |||||||||||||
2016 | England U18 | 4 | (2) | |||||||||||||
2016–2017 | England U19 | 11 | (3) | |||||||||||||
2018 | England U20 | 1 | (1) | |||||||||||||
2018 | England U21 | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2019–2021 | Germany U21 | 20 | (12) | |||||||||||||
2021– | Germany | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:26, 9 November 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:39, 23 September 2022 (UTC) |
Nmecha was born in Hamburg, Germany but relocated to England as a child with his family. He represented his birth country for the first time with the Germany U21 national team, despite being capped by England at the same level.
During a football tournament at his primary school team in Wythenshawe, he was scouted by Manchester City,[4] where he played for their youth ranks for over a decade, before making his debut on 19 December 2017 in the EFL Cup.[5] On his debut he scored the third penalty for Manchester City in their penalty shootout win over Leicester City.[6]
He made his Premier League debut on 29 April 2018, as a late substitute for Gabriel Jesus against West Ham United at the London Stadium.[7]
He was involved in several games during Manchester City's first team squad for the 2018–19 pre season tour in the U.S. to compete in the 2018 International Champions Cup.[8] He scored his first goal at first team level on 29 July 2018 in the pre season friendly against Bayern Munich in a 3–2 win.[9][10]
Nmecha was loaned to Preston North End for the 2018–19 season.[11]
On 3 August 2019, Nmecha joined Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg on a season-long loan.[12]
Nmecha's loan was ended on 3 January 2020 and he joined Middlesbrough on loan.[13] His loan expired on 31 July 2020.
On 21 August 2020, Nmecha joined former teammate Vincent Kompany's team Anderlecht on loan.[14] On 13 September 2020, he scored his first goal with Anderlecht in a 2–0 win over Cercle Brugge.[15] On 19 September, he scored a brace in a 4–2 win over Waasland-Beveren.[16] He ended the 2020–21 season scoring 18 goals in 37 matches.
Nmecha re-joined VFL Wolfsburg in a permanent deal on 16 July 2021.[17] He scored the winning goal on his Bundesliga debut for the club, in a come-from-behind 2–1 victory over Hertha Berlin on 21 August.[18]
Born in Hamburg to a German mother and a Nigerian father, but raised in England, Nmecha is eligible to play for Nigeria, Germany and England.[19]
In October 2014, Nmecha scored for the England Under-17 team in a qualifier against Macedonia.[20] Nmecha was included in the England under-19 squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.[21] He scored the only goal of the game in the semi-final against the Czech Republic[22] and also scored the winner in the final against Portugal.[23]
On 18 May 2018, Nmecha received a call up to the England U21 team by Manager Aidy Boothroyd, for the Toulon Tournament.[24] On 9 June 2018, Nmecha came on as a substitute in the 2018 Toulon Tournament final as England defeated Mexico to retain the title.[25] In November 2018, Nmecha scored for the England Under-20 team against Germany.[26]
In March 2019, Nmecha declared for Germany and was included in their U21 squad for the first time.[27] He made his debut as a 59th minute substitute during the 2–1 victory over England at Bournemouth on 26 March 2019.[28] On 6 June 2021, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over Portugal in the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final,[29] and finished the competition as top scorer with four goals.[30]
He made his debut for the senior national team on 11 November 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein.[31]
Nmecha is the older brother of fellow player Felix Nmecha and Sarah Nmecha. He is of Igbo Nigerian descent. They were born in Germany before moving to England at a young age.[32]
Nmecha's main position is as a centre forward, but he is also able to play as a winger on either side. He is known for being comfortable with both feet and for his first touch and finishing ability.[33] Nmecha described that he also likes to use his pace to run at defenders.[34]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Manchester City | 2017–18[35] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
Manchester City U23 | 2017–18[35] | — | — | — | — | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||||
Preston North End (loan) | 2018–19[36] | Championship | 41 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 44 | 4 | ||
VfL Wolfsburg (loan) | 2019–20[37] | Bundesliga | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | ||
Middlesbrough (loan) | 2019–20[38] | Championship | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
Anderlecht (loan) | 2020–21[37] | Belgian Pro League | 37 | 18 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | 41 | 21 | |||
VfL Wolfsburg | 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 25 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | 5[lower-alpha 3] | 2 | — | 31 | 10 | ||
2022–23 | Bundesliga | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 4 | ||||
Total | 37 | 12 | 3 | 0 | — | 5 | 2 | — | 45 | 14 | ||||
Career total | 134 | 34 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 160 | 41 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
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Germany | 2021 | 2 | 0 |
2022 | 5 | 0 | |
Total | 7 | 0 |
England U19
England U21
Germany U21
Individual
VfL Wolfsburg – current squad | |
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UEFA European Under-21 Championship awards | |
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Golden player |
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Top goalscorer |
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