Nicholas Ioannou

Nicholas Ioannou (Greek: Νικόλας Ιωάννου; born 10 November 1995) is a Greek Cypriot professional footballer who plays as a defender for Serie B club Como and the Cyprus national team.

Not to be confused with Nicolas Ioannou.

Nicholas Ioannou
Nicholas Ioannou playing for Cyprus in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-11-10) 10 November 1995
Place of birth Limassol, Cyprus
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
 Como
Number 44
Youth career
2006–2014 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 → AEP Paphos (loan) 2 (0)
2014–2020 APOEL 81 (5)
2020–2022 Nottingham Forest 5 (0)
2021 → Aris (loan) 9 (1)
2021–2022 → Como (loan) 30 (1)
2022– Como 38 (6)
International career‡
2012 Cyprus U19 1 (0)
2014–2016 Cyprus U21 12 (1)
2017– Cyprus 43 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:11, 28 September 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 July 2023

Club career

Youth career

Ioannou joined Manchester United youth academy at the age of 11. He played at the Marveld Tournament with the under-15 team in June 2010 held at Netherlands. This was followed by his participation in Manchester United Premier Cup. His form earned him a two-year scholarship in June 2012. But it is also reported that Manchester United was reluctant to give him a full-time contract.[1] He made his debut in Old Trafford against Charlton Athletic in FA Youth Cup aged 16. While playing in Milk Cup, he was injured which drove him out of action for most of the 2012–13 season. In his last match for the reserves, he captained the team against Tottenham Hotspur.[2] He also appeared in three 2013–14 UEFA Youth League group stage matches with the under-19 team.[3]

APOEL

After being released by Manchester United, he signed a three-year contract with APOEL on 24 April 2014.[4] On joining the club, Ioannou commented: "My main aim is to win trophies of course, but obviously I need to start playing. APOEL play in big competitions – Champions League and Europa League – so hopefully I can get a few games."[5]

He made his official debut against Finnish club HJK on 30 July 2014, in APOEL's 2–2 away draw for the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.[6] On 5 November 2014, aged 18, he made his first UEFA Champions League group stage appearance, playing the full 90 minutes in APOEL's 0–1 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes.[7] In his first season at APOEL, Ioannou appeared only in seven matches in all competitions, but he managed to win the double, as his team won both the Cypriot championship and the cup.[8]

On 3 June 2016, Ioannou signed a three-year contract extension until 31 May 2019,[9] but a few months later, on 13 March 2017, he signed a further two-year contract extension with APOEL, running until 31 May 2021.[10] Following his successful 2016–17 season with APOEL, Ioannou awarded the "Young Player of the season" award by Cyprus Football Association.[11]

Nottingham Forest

On 25 September 2020, Ioannou returned to England, joining EFL Championship side Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee.[12] He made his debut for Forest on 3 October 2020 in a 2–1 defeat to Bristol City.[13]

On 8 January 2021, Ioannou was loaned to Greek Super League side Aris until the end of the season.[14]

On 5 July 2021, it was announced Ioannou had joined Serie B side Como on a season-long loan deal.[15]

Como

On 27 July 2022, Ioannou joined Como on a permanent deal for a contact until June 2025.[16][17]

International career

Being an English-Cypriot, Ioannou is eligible to represent the national teams of both the countries. In 2012, he had been capped by Cyprus U19.[5] He made his Cyprus U21 debut on 5 September 2014, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute in a UEFA European U-21 Championship qualifying match against Belgium.[18]

He received his first senior Cyprus national team call-up at the age of 18, being an unused substitute for Cyprus in the friendly match against Japan on 27 May 2014.[19] He made his debut for Cyprus in 2017.

Career statistics

Club statistics
As of match played 27 September 2023[20]
Club Season League National Cup Continental[lower-alpha 1] Other[lower-alpha 2] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
APOEL 2014–15 Cypriot First Division 3020200070
2015–16 5010100070
2016–17 170604010280
2017–18 101300000131
2018–19 254605000364
2019–20 190200000210
2020–21 2000100030
Total 815200130101155
Nottingham Forest 2020–21 EFL Championship 500000—50
2021–22 000000—00
Club total 5000000050
Aris 2020–21 Super League Greece 91100000101
Como 2021–22 Serie B 30110—311
2022–23 Serie B 32310—333
2023–24 Serie B 6310—73
Total 687300000717
Career total 163132401301020113
  1. Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches.
  2. Includes Cypriot Super Cup matches.

International
As of 19 November 2019[20]
Cyprus
YearAppsGoals
2017 1 0
2018 7 0
2019 10 2
Total 18 2

International goals
Scores and results list Cyprus' goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.10 October 2019Astana Arena, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan Kazakhstan2–12–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
2.19 November 2019King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium Belgium1–01–6

Honours

Club
APOEL

Individual
  • Young player of the Season (Cyprus): 2016–17[11]

Personal life

Ioannou's father (Demetris Ioannou) is a former Cypriot international captain.[5] His elder brother is Michael Ioannou, who is a Cypriot youth international. He attended St George's RC High School in Walkden, Greater Manchester, during his time at the Manchester United academy.[21]

References
  1. "Cypriot teen released by Man United joins APOEL". Cyprus mail. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  2. "Ioannou joins Apoel Nicosia". Manchester United. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  3. "Nicholas Ioannou". UEFA. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  4. "Ανακοίνωση εταιρείας ΑΠΟΕΛ". APOEL FC. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  5. "Cypriot Teenager Released by Man Utd Joins APOEL". Greekreporter. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  6. "APOEL comeback halts ten-man HJK". UEFA. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  7. "Quick-fire Cavani sends Paris through, APOEL out". UEFA. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  8. "APOEL secure league to wrap up Cypriot double". UEFA. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  9. "Επέκταση συνεργασίας με Νικόλα Ιωάννου". APOEL FC. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  10. "Επέκταση συνεργασίας με τον Νικόλα Ιωάννου". APOEL FC. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  11. "Η επιβράβευση των πρωταγωνιστών της χρονιάς" (in Greek). cfa.com.cy. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  12. "Reds sign Ioannou".
  13. "Nottingham Forest 1-2 Bristol City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  14. "Ioannou departs on loan".
  15. "Ioannou departs on loan".
  16. "Ioannou departs".
  17. "Nicholas Ioannou è un nuovo giocatore del Como". 27 July 2022.
  18. "Cyprus U21 vs. Belgium U21 0-6". Soccerway. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  19. "Japan vs Cyprus 1-0". Soccerway. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  20. "Nicolas Ioannou". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  21. "Rough Diamonds #7-Nick Ioannou (Manchester United)". The False 9. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
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