Henry Onyekuru

Henry Chukwuemeka Onyekuru (born 5 June 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Saudi Pro League club Al-Fayha, and the Nigeria national team.

Henry Onyekuru
Personal information
Full name Henry Chukwuemeka Onyekuru[1]
Date of birth (1997-06-05) 5 June 1997
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Al-Fayha
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)
2021–2023 Olympiacos 14 (0)
2022–2023 → Adana Demirspor (loan) 28 (8)
2023 Adana Demirspor 0 (0)
2023– Al-Fayha 10 (2)
International career‡
2017– Nigeria 15 (1)
Medal record
Africa Cup of Nations
Third place2019 Egypt
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 January 2022

Club career

Eupen

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]

Everton

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 nine 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]

Loan to Galatasaray

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]

Monaco

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]

Return to Galatasaray on loan

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]

Olympiacos

On 2 August 2021, Olympiacos announced the signing of Onyekuru for a four-year deal for an undisclosed amount.[23]

Al-Fayha

On 11 August 2023, Onyekuru joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Fayha on a two-year contract.[24]

International career

Onyekuru was called up for the Super Eagles camp in May 2017.[25] He made his senior debut for Nigeria in a 3–0 friendly win over Togo on 1 June 2017.[26]

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.[27][28] 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.[29][30]

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.[31][32]

Career statistics

Club
As of 9 January 2023[33]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Eupen 2015–16 Belgian Second Division 19600——196
2016–17 Belgian First Division A 382232——4124
Total 572832——6030
Everton 2017–18 Premier League 0000——00
Anderlecht (loan) 2017–18 Belgian First Division A 19921601[lower-alpha 1]02810
Galatasaray (loan) 2018–19 Süper Lig 31146270004416
Monaco 2019–20 Ligue 1 4000——40
2020–21 Ligue 1 4000——40
Total 8000000080
Galatasaray (loan) 2019–20 Süper Lig 10120——121
2020–21 Süper Lig 14510——155
Total 24630——276
Olympiacos 2021–22 Super League Greece 1403010[lower-alpha 2]1—271
Adana Demirspor (loan) 2022–23 Süper Lig 16 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 18 6
Career total 169631952311021269
  1. Appearances in Belgian Super Cup
  2. Appearance in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played on 19 January 2022[34]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team YearAppsGoals
Nigeria 201710
201860
201951
202000
202120
202210
Total151
As of goal scored 22 March 2019
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Onyekuru goal.[34]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.22 March 2019Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, Nigeria Seychelles2–13–12019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Anderlecht

Galatasaray

Olympiacos

References
  1. "Premier League Clubs submit Squad Lists". Premier League. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  2. PageOne (5 January 2017). "Henry Onyekuru - From National Stadium to Stardom - PageOne.ng".
  3. "Dessel Sport vs. AS Eupen - 5 september 2015 - Soccerway". Soccerway.
  4. "Zulte-Waregem vs. AS Eupen - 30 juli 2016 - Soccerway". Soccerway.
  5. "Celtic, RB Leipzig eyeing KAS Eupen's Henry Onyekuru - Sources".
  6. "Łukasz Teodorczyk królem strzelców". www.90minut.pl.
  7. "Henry Onyekuru: Everton sign Nigeria striker and loan him to Anderlecht". BBC Sport. 30 June 2017.
  8. "Incoming Everton striker Onyekuru handed new squad number". LiverpoolEcho. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  9. "Everton Youngster Onyekuru Set for 8-Month Spell on Sidelines With Knee Injury". Sports Illustrated. 29 December 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  10. "Onyekuru returns to Anderlecht after recovery from Injury". The Guardian (Nigeria). 23 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  11. "Henry Onyekuru: Everton striker joins Galatasaray on loan". BBC Sport. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  12. "Everton's Henry Onyekuru joins Galatasaray on season-long loan". Sky Sports. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  13. "Nigeria striker Onyekuru thankful for Galatasaray double". BBC Sport. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  14. "AKHİSARSPOR 1:3 GALATASARAY A.Ş." (in Turkish). TFF. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  15. "Onyekuru named fastest player in Turkish Super Lig".
  16. "Henry Onyekuru: Everton sell Nigeria forward to Monaco". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  17. "Everton agree fee to sell striker on a permanent deal". SB Nation. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  18. "Henry Onyekuru: Monaco sign Everton forward on five-year deal". Goal. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  19. "Official | Galatasaray sign Henry Onyekuru on loan until the end of the season". Get French Football news. 5 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  20. Enes Calli, Muhammed (4 July 2020). "Henry Onyekuru leaves Galatasaray". AA.com. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  21. "Yuvana hoş geldin Henry Onyekuru" [Welcome home Henry Onyekuru]. www.galatasaray.org (in Turkish). 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  22. "Onyekuru eager to extend Galatasaray stay".
  23. "Ο Ονιεκουρού στον Ολυμπιακό μέχρι το 2025". ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΟΣ - Olympiacos.org (in Greek). 1 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  24. "النيجيري هنري اونيكورو فيحاوي حتى 2025م".
  25. "Onyekuru gets Nigeria call". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  26. "Internationals (Sky Sports)". SkySports.
  27. "Nigeria announce provisional AFCON squad". Sport 24. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  28. "Nigeria name final 23-man Africa Cup of Nations squad". KingFut. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  29. "Osimhen, Onyekuru battle to replace Ighalo". Vanguard News. 27 July 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  30. "Riyad Mahrez scored a last-second, stoppage-time free-kick to send Algeria into Friday's final against Senegal". The Guardian. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  31. Fowowe, Solomon (14 August 2019). "Rohr invites two new players for Ukraine friendly". Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  32. "Rohr explains decision to leave Onyekuru on bench".
  33. Henry Onyekuru at Soccerway. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  34. "Henry Onyekuru". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
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