Hamza Choudhury

Hamza Dewan Choudhury (born 1 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL Championship club Leicester City.

Hamza Choudhury
Choudhury playing for Leicester City in 2021
Personal information
Full name Hamza Dewan Choudhury[1]
Date of birth (1997-10-01) 1 October 1997[2]
Place of birth Loughborough, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Leicester City
Number 17
Youth career
2005–2015 Leicester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015– Leicester City 60 (1)
2016 → Burton Albion (loan) 13 (0)
2016–2017 → Burton Albion (loan) 13 (0)
2022–2023 → Watford (loan) 36 (0)
International career
2018–2019 England U21 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:28, 4 October 2023 (UTC)

Choudhury is a product of Leicester City Academy, he joined the club at the age of seven. After gaining professional experience with two loan spells at Burton Albion, he has made over 80 senior appearances for Leicester since 2017. With Leicester, Choudhury won the FA Cup in 2021.

Choudhury has represented England at under-21 level.

Early life

Choudhury was born in Loughborough, Leicestershire.[4]

Club career

Leicester City
Choudhury playing for Leicester City in 2019

Choudhury began his career at the Leicester City Academy, joining the club at the age of 7 in 2005.[3] At the age of 16, Choudhury was reportedly monitored by a number of top European clubs.[5]

Loan to Burton Albion

Choudhury joined League One leaders Burton Albion on a one-month loan deal on 27 February 2016.[6] He made his debut in the Football League later that same day, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for Tom Naylor in a 0–0 draw with Walsall at the Pirelli Stadium.[7] On 6 August 2016, Choudhury signed another loan deal with Burton Albion for the 2016–17 season.[8] On the same day, Choudhury featured in Burton Albion's first ever Championship game, claiming an assist in a 4–3 defeat against Nottingham Forest.[9]

First-team breakthrough

Choudhury made his first-team debut for Leicester City on 19 September 2017, coming on as substitute in a 2–0 win against Liverpool at home in the third round of the EFL Cup.[10] He made his Premier League debut on 28 November as a substitute at home in a 2–1 win against Tottenham Hotspur.[11] His first Premier League start came on 14 April 2018, in a 2–1 away defeat to Burnley.[12]

On 30 August 2019, Choudhury signed a new four-year contract with Leicester.[13]On 1 January 2020, Choudhury scored his first senior goal for Leicester, an outside the box strike in the 86th minute, in a 3–0 away win at Newcastle United.[14]

On 22 October 2020, Choudhury made his first appearance in a European competition, coming off the bench in the 71st minute against Zorya Luhansk. He became the first footballer of Bangladeshi descent to make an appearance in a European competition by doing so.[15] One week later, Choudhury scored a 39th-minute volley against AEK Athens, winning the match 2–1. He became the first footballer of Bangladeshi descent to score in one of the two major UEFA club competitions, the first British Asian to score in European competitions since Michael Chopra in the defunct UEFA Intertoto Cup, and the first British Asian to score in the current UEFA competitions.[16]

On 11 April 2021, Choudhury was one of three players dropped from Leicester's squad for the game against West Ham United after breaching COVID-19 protocols.[17] On 15 May 2021, he came on as an 82nd-minute substitute in the 2021 FA Cup Final, which Leicester won 1–0 for his first career honour.[18] He and teammate Wesley Fofana both celebrated draped in the flag of Palestine, during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.[19]

Loan to Watford

On 10 August 2022, Choudhury joined Championship club Watford on loan for the season, with the option to make the move permanent the following summer.[20] He made his debut two days later in a 1–0 home win over Burnley, and was praised by manager Rob Edwards.[21]

International career

On 26 May 2018, Choudhury made his debut for the England national under-21 football team, coming on as a substitute during the 2–1 win against China under-21 in the 2018 Toulon Tournament.[22] Choudhury started for England in the next match of the tournament, a 0–0 draw against Mexico.[23]

On 27 May 2019, Choudhury was included in England's 23-man squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship[24] but was shown a straight red card for a reckless tackle during the second half of the opening 2–1 defeat to France in Cesena.[25]

Although eligible to play for Bangladesh and Grenada, Choudhury said in October 2019 that he intended to pursue an international career with England, stating: "To play for England is my biggest dream, to represent the senior team".[26]

Personal life

Choudhury is of Bangladeshi-Grenadian ancestry. He was raised in a traditional Bengali Muslim household by his mother and stepfather and has visited Bangladesh since he was a child.[27][28] His maternal ancestral home is in Bahubal, Habiganj District in Bangladesh.[29][30] His stepfather is also Bengali.[31] Choudhury can speak Bengali with a good degree of fluency.[32] He is eligible to play for the Grenada national team through his biological father.[33]

Choudhury is a Sunni Muslim, and attended evening madrasa during his youth. He has stated that before leaving the changing room for a match, he recites parts of the Qur'an in Arabic such as the Verse of the Throne and various duas.[27]

In April 2019 he apologised for historical offensive tweets.[34] He was later charged with misconduct by the FA,[35] and fined £5,000 and put on an educational course.[36]

He and his wife have three children born in 2018, 2020, and 2023.[27][37]

Career statistics
As of match played 4 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Leicester City 2015–16 Premier League 000000——00
2016–17 Premier League 000000——00
2017–18[38] Premier League 800010——90
2018–19[39] Premier League 901020——120
2019–20[40] Premier League 2014050——291
2020–21[41] Premier League 10030108[lower-alpha 1]1—221
2021–22[42] Premier League 6010104[lower-alpha 2]000120
2023–24[43] Championship 700030——100
Total 6019013012100942
Burton Albion (loan) 2015–16[44] League One 1300000—00130
Burton Albion (loan) 2016–17[45] Championship 1300020——150
Watford (loan) 2022–23[46] Championship 3600010——370
Career total 122190160121001592
  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. One appearance in UEFA Europa League, three appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Leicester City

England U21

See also

References
  1. "List of temporary transfers of players under written contract between 01/08/2016 and 31/08/2016". The Football Association. p. 24. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  2. "Hamza Choudhury: Overview". Premier League. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  3. "Hamza Choudhury". Leicester City F.C. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  4. "Hamza Choudhury: To & 'Fro". Leicester City F.C. 14 March 2020. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  5. "Transfer news: Leicester City youngster Hamza Choudhury attracting European interest". Sky Sports. 25 September 2014. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  6. Wilkinson, Ashley (27 February 2016). "Burton Albion transfer news: Leicester City youngster Hamza Choudhury signs on loan". Burton Mail. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  7. "Burton's lead at the top of League One was cut to two points after they were held by fellow high-flyers Walsall". BBC Sport. 27 February 2016. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  8. "Hamza Choudhury re-signs on loan". 6 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  9. "Forest: On the whistle match report". Burton Albion F.C. 6 August 2016. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  10. "Carabao Cup: Leicester City vs Liverpool – 2:0". 19 September 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  11. "Premier League: Leicester City vs Tottenham Hotspur – 2:1". 28 November 2017. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  12. "Burnley 2–1 Leicester City". BBC Sport. 14 April 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  13. "Hamza Choudhury Extends Leicester City Contract Until 2023". 30 August 2019. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  14. Smyth, Rob (1 January 2020). "Newcastle United 0-3 Leicester City: Premier League – as it happened". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020 – via www.theguardian.com.
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  16. "AEK-Leicester Match Report". UEFA. 29 October 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
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  23. "England beat Mexico to win in Toulon". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  24. "England U21S Squad Named by Aidy Boothroyd for This Summer's Euro Finals in Italy". The FA. 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  25. "England U21s 1 France U21s 2". BBC Sport. 18 June 2019. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  26. "Haircuts & life in Leicester - meet Hamza Choudhury". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  27. "Leicester City's Hamza Choudhury on trips to Bangladesh and hating haircuts". BBC Sport. 4 October 2019. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
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  29. "The rise of Bangladesh origin Hamza Choudhury in English football". SportsOnly. 28 December 2018. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  30. "হবিগঞ্জের দেওয়ান বাড়ির ছেলে লেস্টার সিটির হামজা" [Son of Habiganj's Dewan Bari, Leicester City's Hamza]. SportsOnly (in Bengali). 25 September 2017. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  31. Pawley, Luke; Updated (28 October 2021). "Hamza Choudhury's journey to become an inspirational Leicester City captain". LeicestershireLive. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  32. "Shakib is an inspiration, says Leicester City's Hamza". Prothom Alo. 29 May 2020. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020. Choudhury spoke in clear Bangla to Prothom Alo... fluent enough in Bangla as his parents speak the language
  33. "Why Shrewsbury are a big deal in Grenada". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  34. "Hamza Choudhury: Leicester midfielder apologises for 'hurtful and offensive' tweets". BBC Sport. 29 April 2019. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
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  43. "Games played by Hamza Choudhury in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  44. "Games played by Hamza Choudhury in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  45. "Games played by Hamza Choudhury in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  46. "Games played by Hamza Choudhury in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
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