Rodney Kongolo

Rodney Nkele Kongolo (born 9 January 1998) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eerste Divisie club Roda JC.[2]

Rodney Kongolo
Kongolo with Manchester City U19 in 2017.
Personal information
Full name Rodney Nkele Kongolo[1]
Date of birth (1998-01-09) 9 January 1998
Place of birth Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Roda JC
Number 21
Youth career
Feyenoord
2014–2017 Manchester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Manchester City 0 (0)
2017–2018 → Doncaster Rovers (loan) 35 (0)
2018–2022 SC Heerenveen 76 (5)
2022–2023 Cosenza 13 (0)
2023– Roda JC 0 (0)
International career‡
2013–2014 Netherlands U16 9 (0)
2014 Netherlands U17 4 (0)
2016–2017 Netherlands U19 11 (1)
2017–2018 Netherlands U20 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:08, 16 July 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 October 2018

Club career

Manchester City

Born in Rotterdam,[3] Kongolo started out at Feyenoord's youth academy.[4] His performance for the Netherlands U20 side in February 2013 attracted interest from Premier League sides Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City.[5] Because he was 15 at the time, there were concerns for Feyenoord, as Kongolo’s departure could leave the club with no compensation and previously saw their youth talents depart in recent years, such as, Nathan Aké, Jeffrey Bruma and Kyle Ebecilio.[4] Eventually, Kongolo moved from Feyenoord to Manchester City in March 2014, immediately sent to the development squad and because he was 16 at the time, they would pay Feyenoord compensation.[6][7] Later in July 2014, he signed his first professional contract with the club.[8]

At Manchester City development side, Kongolo progressed through for both City U18s and the Elite Development Squad, as he played in a box-to-box role and in a more defensive position.[9] Along the way, he also developed as captain for the development squad in UEFA Youth League and later in the Premier League 2.[10] At the end of the 2016–17 season, Kongolo was named Player’s Player for the EDS.[11]

By the time of his departure from Manchester City, Kongolo failed to make a first team breakthrough and made no first team appearances for the side.[12]

Loan spell at Doncaster Rovers

On 3 August 2017, Kongolo signed on loan for Doncaster Rovers on a six-month loan.[13]

He made his Doncaster Rovers debut, where he came on as a substitute for Matty Blair in the 70th minutes, in a 0–0 draw against Gillingham in the opening game of the season.[14] In a follow–up match, he scored his first goal for Doncaster Rovers in a 3-2 EFL Cup win at Bradford City on 8 August 2017.[15][16] Since joining the club, Kongolo established himself in the first team, where he was featured in the midfield position.[17][18][19] On 4 January 2018, his performance at Doncaster Rovers saw his loan extended until the end of the season.[20] Towards the end of the season, his playing time soon saw him coming off from the substitute bench.[21] At the end of the 2017–18 season, Kongolo finished his time at Doncaster Rovers, making 42 appearances and scoring once in all competitions.[15]

Heerenveen

Kongolo signed a three-year contract with Heerenveen on 18 July 2018.[22] The transfer fee was in the region of £750,000.[23]

He made his SC Heerenveen debut, where he came on as a substitute for Nemanja Mihajlović in the 57th minutes, in a 3–2 win over PEC Zwolle in the opening game of the season.[24] He then made his first start on 17 August 2018, where he started the whole game, in a 3–2 win over Vitesse.[25]

Cosenza

On 31 January 2022, Kongolo signed with Cosenza in Italy.[26] On 16 January 2023, his contract with Cosenza was terminated by mutual consent.[27]

Roda JC

On 23 May 2023, it was announced that Kongolo would join Eerste Divisie club Roda JC ahead of the 2023–24 season, signing a two-year deal.[28][29]

International career

Kongolo is a Dutch youth international, playing from under-16 to under-20 levels.[30] In January 2013, Kongolo was called up for the Netherlands U15 squad for the first time.[31] It wasn’t until on 16 April 2013 where he captained the whole game, in a 0–0 draw against Belgium U15.[32] He captained the U15 side once again, in a 4–1 loss against Germany U15 on 14 May 2013.[33] He went on to make four appearances for the Netherlands U15 between April 2013 and May 2013.[34]

In September 2013, Kongolo was called up for the Netherlands U16 squad for the first time.[35] A month later, on 29 October 2013, he made his Netherlands U16 debut, where he came on as a substitute in the 70th minutes, in a 2–1 win over Belgium U16.[36] Two days later, on 31 October 2013, he made his first start, in a 2–1 loss against France U16.[37] Kongolo went on to make nine appearances for the U16 side between October 2013 and May 2014.[38]

In September 2014, Kongolo was called up to the Netherlands U17 squad for the first time.[39] He made his Netherlands U17 debut on 10 September2014, in a 3–3 draw against Germany U17.[40] Kongolo went on to make four appearances for the U17 side between September 2014 and October 2014.[41]

In August 2015, Kongolo was called up to the Netherlands U18 squad for the first time.[42] He made his Netherlands U18 debut, where he started the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against England U18 on 3 September 2015.[43] Kongolo went on to make six appearances for the U18 side between September 2015 and March 2016.[44]

In August 2016, Kongolo was called up to the Netherlands U19 squad for the first time.[45] He made his Netherlands U19 debut on 1 September 2016, where he played 70 minutes, in a 1–1 draw against England U19.[46] A month later on 8 October 2016, he set up a goal for Kaj Sierhuis, who scored a hat–trick, in a 4–0 loss win over San Marino U19.[47] In June 2017, he was called up by the Netherlands U19 squad for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.[48] Kongolo then scored his first goal for the U19 side, in a 1–1 draw against Bulgaria U19 on 9 July 2017.[49] He went on to make four appearances throughout the tournament, as Netherlands U19 were eliminated in the semi–finals against Portugal U19.[50] He went on to make eleven appearances for the Netherlands U19 side.

In August 2017, Kongolo was called up by Netherlands U20 for the first time.[51] He made his Netherlands U20 debut on 4 September 2017, where he started the whole game, in a 1–0 win over Portugal U20.[52]

Personal life

Kongolo is of Congolese descent, making him eligible to play for DR Congo.[7] He has two brothers who are also both footballers, Terence and Fidel.[53][4][13]

In addition to speaking Dutch, Kongolo speaks English and French.[18]

Career statistics
As of match played 20 May 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester City 2017–18[15] Premier League 0000000000
Doncaster Rovers (loan) 2017–18[15] League One 35030311[lower-alpha 1]0421
Heerenveen 2018–19[3] Eredivisie 9010——100
2019–20[3] Eredivisie 26430——294
2020–21[3] Eredivisie 31141——352
2021–22[3] Eredivisie 10020——120
Total 7651010000866
Cosenza 2021–22[3] Serie B 13000—2[lower-alpha 2]0150
Roda JC 2023–24[3] Eerste Divisie 0000——00
Career total 124513131301436
  1. Appearance in the EFL Trophy
  2. Appearances in Serie B relegation play-out

References
  1. "List of players under written contract registered between 01/08/2017 and 31/08/2017" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 8. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  2. Rodney Kongolo at WorldFootball.net
  3. Rodney Kongolo at Soccerway. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  4. "THE NEXT KOEMAN'S". Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2013. retrieved 26 March 2013.
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    "Feyenoord's Vieira-esque midfielder linked with Manchester City and Chelsea – Talent Spotter". Talk Sport. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  6. "Manchester City swoop for Feyenoord starlet - reports". Manchester Evening News. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  7. "RODNEY KONGOLO: LE JEUNE NÉERLANDO-CONGOLAIS VA SIGNER À MANCHESTER CITY" (in French). Africa Top Sports. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  8. "Young Blues sign up". Manchester Evening. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  9. "KONGOLO: FIVE TIPS TO BEING A MARAUDING MIDFIELDER". Manchester City F.C. 2 November 2016. Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
    "Three Man City under-23s to look out for in the mini derby". Manchester Evening News. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
    "FA Youth Cup Preview & Analysis". MCFC Watch. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  10. "Man City youngster Cameron Humphreys given EDS challenge". Manchester Evening News. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
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  32. "DOELPUNTLOOS GELIJKSPEL ONDER 15" (in Dutch). Football Onsoranje. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
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