Imran Louza
Imran Louza (Arabic: عمران لوزة; born 1 May 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Watford. Born in France, he plays for the Morocco national team.
_10_(cropped).jpg.webp) Louza with Nantes in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Imran Louza[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1 May 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Nantes, France | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Watford | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2006 | Etoile du Cens | ||
| 2006–2017 | Nantes | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2021 | Nantes | 58 | (9) |
| 2021- | Watford | 52 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | Morocco U20 | 2 | (1) |
| 2019 | France U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019 | France U21 | 6 | (0) |
| 2021– | Morocco | 15 | (2) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 October 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 June 2023 (UTC) | |||
Louza came through Nantes' youth academy and made his first team debut in 2019, and his international debut in 2021.
Club career
Nantes
Louza joined the youth academy of Nantes in 2006 from Etoile du Cens, and was captain of several youth categories in the club.[2] He made his professional debut with Nantes in a 4–1 Coupe de France win over Châteauroux on 4 January 2019, and scored in his debut.[3]
Watford
On 1 June 2021, Watford completed the signing of Louza from Nantes for a reported fee of €10 million.[4] He signed with The Hornets on a five-year deal lasting until 2026.[5][6] On 21 August 2021, Louza made his debut for Watford in a 2-0 loss against Brighton.[7]
On 8 October 2022, in Louza's third appearance of the season, he opened his account for Watford with an impressive free-kick to equalise in an eventual 3–1 defeat to Blackpool.[8] On 19 October 2022, Louza was stretchered off during a 3–0 defeat to Millwall.[9] Manager Slaven Bilić would go on to reveal that Louza had fractured his fibula as well as suffering ligament damage, an injury that would rule him out for several months and see him miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[10]
International career
Louza was born in France to a Moroccan father and a French mother. He represented the Morocco U20s in a 3–2 friendly win over the France U20s, and scored a goal for his side.[11] He switched to represent France internationally, debuting for the France U20s and U21s.
Louza formally decided to represent the senior Morocco national team and debuted and scored in a 5–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification win over Guinea-Bissau on 6 October 2021.[12]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 7 October 2023[13]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nantes B | 2017–18 | Championnat National 3 | 20 | 4 | — | — | — | 20 | 4 | |||
| 2018–19 | Championnat National 2 | 20 | 6 | — | — | — | 20 | 6 | ||||
| Total | 40 | 10 | — | — | — | 40 | 10 | |||||
| Nantes | 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 1 | |
| 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 28 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 33 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 36 | 7 | ||
| Total | 58 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 67 | 12 | ||
| Watford | 2021–22[13] | Premier League | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23[13] | Championship | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 5 | |||
| 2023–24[13] | Championship | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 1 | ||
| Total | 52 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | —| | 55 | 6 | |||
| Career total | 150 | 24 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 161 | 27 | ||
- Appearances in Ligue 1 relegation play-offs
International
- Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Louza goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 October 2021 | Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco |  Guinea-Bissau | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 12 November 2021 | Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco |  Sudan | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
References
- "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- "Formation - Imran Louza, Made In FC Nantes". www.fcnantes.com.
- "Il marque pour son premier match en pro avec le FC Nantes : Imran Louza vit "un rêve de gosse"". France Bleu. 5 January 2019.
- "Watford sign Imran Louza for €10m from Nantes". www.getfootballnewsfrance.com. June 2021.
- "Pro Group - Imran Louza leaves FC Nantes". www.fcnantes.com.
- "Official: Hornets Sign Louza". Watford F.C. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- "Brighton make it two wins from two with Watford victory". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- "Blackpool 3–1 Watford: Jerry Yates double ends Tangerines' winless run". BBC Sport. 8 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- "Millwall 3–0 Watford: Tom Bradshaw's first-half hat-trick downs Hornets". BBC Sport. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- "Imran Louza: Watford's Morocco midfielder 'out for a few months' with broken leg". BBC Sport. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- "FC Nantes. Imran Louza, le Canari qui grandit dans l'ombre". 14 November 2018.
- "FC Nantes. Première sélection et premier but pour Imran Louza, ancien Canari, avec le Maroc". 6 October 2021.
- Imran Louza at Soccerway
- "Imran Louza". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
External links
- Imran Louza at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Imran Louza – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
- Imran Louza at Soccerway
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