Britt Curtis Assombalonga (born 6 December 1992) is a Congolese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

DR Congo national football team The DR Congo national football team ( French: ''Équipe nationale de football de la République démocratique du Congo''), recognised by FIFA as Congo DR, represents the Democratic Republic of the Congo in men's international football and it i ...

. He has played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

Early life

Assambalonga was born in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

, and moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, with his family at eight months old. He grew up in

Swiss Cottage Swiss Cottage is an area in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies north-northwest of Charing Cross. The area was ...

, in the London borough of Camden, and attended

Whitefield School Whitefield School is a secondary school and sixth form located in the London Borough of Barnet. In 2010, the school was in the top 1% of most improved schools in the country. Since then it has been in the top 1 or 2% of schools in the country ...

. He is the son of Fedor Assombalonga, a former

international footballer. His brother, Christian, is also a footballer who plays in the English

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

system at Bourne Town Football Club

Club career

Watford

Assombalonga began his career with

, signing as a 17-year-old youth player in 2010 after making his way through via the Hertswood Impact Scheme. In his first full season in the youth team, he finished as the second top goal scorer while his team made it to the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

quarter-finals. He also appeared regularly for Watford's reserve team, and was rewarded for his performances with a one-year professional contract at the end of the season. He was an unused substitute for the senior squad's last two games against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

and

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

. In November 2011, Assombalonga joined

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow, London, Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont, Harrow, Belmont and Kenton, London, Kenton, ...

alongside youth teammate Connor Smith to gain more playing experience. On 3 December, he scored his first goal in a league match against Concord Rangers. Assombalonga had his loan spell extended for another month on 4 January 2012. Assombalonga returned to Watford on 4 February, having scored 11 goals in 16 games for Wealdstone. Just days after his return to Watford, Assombalonga was loaned to

Braintree Town Braintree Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Braintree, Essex, England. They are currently members of and play at Cressing Road. History The club was formed on 24 September 1898 as Manor Works, the works team of the ...

on a one-month deal. Despite being heavily linked with a permanent move to Scottish club

Peterhead Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...

, he also signed a one-year contract extension with Watford on the same day. Assombalonga made an eventful debut in a 3–3 draw against Lincoln City; he scored his first goal for the club to put Braintree 3–2 up before being sent off for a second bookable offence. He scored four more goals in four games for Braintree after serving his one-match suspension, and was subsequently recalled by Watford to join their senior squad. On 17 March 2012, he made his first-team debut in a 0–0 draw with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

. His appearance made him the 50th player to go through Watford's academy and represent the first-team. At the start of the 2012–13 season, Assombalonga joined League Two club

on an initial one-month loan. On 25 August 2012, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–3 draw against

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

. Assombalonga went on to score five goals in four matches, including a brace in a 3–1 win against

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the , the sixth level of the En ...

on 7 September. At the end of the month, Southend extended the loan deal to run until 3 January 2013. Having established himself in the first team, Assombalonga became the club's top scorer that season with a total of 15 goals. Southend again extended Assombalonga's loan in December 2012, keeping him at the club until the end of the season. He played in the 2013 League Trophy Final against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

which Southend lost 2–0.

Peterborough United

On 31 July 2013,

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

side

broke their previous transfer record to sign Assombalonga from Watford on a four-year deal. The fee was undisclosed, but was confirmed as greatly exceeding the club's previous £1.1 million record fee. He was given the number nine shirt. Peterborough chairman

Darragh MacAnthony Darragh MacAnthony (born 24 March 1976) is an Irish football chairman, author and adult entertainments entrepreneur. He also has a podcast named The Hard Truth where he discusses Peterborough United and other football related topics. Early life ...

hailed the deal, saying he was "delighted", and that Assombalonga had been Peterborough's main transfer target. On the opening game of the season, he scored on his debut as Peterborough defeated

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

1–0. He scored a penalty in a 3–1 win over Chesterfield at Wembley in the

2014 Football League Trophy Final The 2014 Football League Trophy Final was the 31st final of the domestic cup involving League One and League Two teams. The final took place at Wembley Stadium in London on 30 March 2014 and saw Peterborough United beat Chesterfield 3–1, wi ...

Nottingham Forest

On 6 August 2014, Assombalonga joined

on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee reported to be in the region of £5 million, potentially rising to £8 million based on various clauses (of which Watford will receive 50% due to sell-on clauses). This made Assombalonga Forest's record signing, surpassing the £4.5 million fee paid to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

for striker

Pierre van Hooijdonk Pierre van Hooijdonk (; born 29 November 1969) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. He had spells with clubs across Europe where he was a prolific goal scorer. Van Hooijdonk was capped 46 times for the Netherland ...

in 1997. Assombalonga scored his first goals for Forest twelve days after signing, netting a brace against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

at the

Macron Stadium The Toughsheet Community Stadium is a Association football, football stadium in Horwich near Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers Football Club, with an all-seated capacity of 28, ...

. He then scored a goal each in their next two games, against

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

respectively. Assombalonga scored in his first East Midlands Derby, opening the scoring against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

at the

City Ground The City Ground is a association football, football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,455. ...

. Assombalonga's goal-scoring run continued with his first hat-trick for Forest on 17 September in a 5–3 home victory against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

. He then went on to score in the reverse fixture against

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, equalising at

Pride Park Pride Park is a business park on the southern outskirts of the city centre of Derby, England. It covers 80 hectares of contaminated former industrial land between the River Derwent and railway lines, and was developed between the 1990s and ear ...

as Forest secured a 2–1 win to relieve the pressure on their beleaguered manager

Stuart Pearce Stuart Pearce (born 24 April 1962) is an English professional football manager and former player, who was most recently a first-team coach for Premier League club West Ham United. He was nicknamed "Psycho" for his unforgiving style of play. ...

. On 11 February 2015, Assombalonga sustained a serious knee injury during a 3–0 victory over

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

after taking a shot at goal that prematurely ended his season. Assombalonga eventually made his return from injury on 19 April 2016 as an 84th-minute substitute for

Robert Tesche Robert Tesche (born 27 May 1987) is a German professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club VfL Osnabrück. Tesche played for Arminia Bielefeld, Hamburger SV and Fortuna Düsseldorf before moving to England in ...

in a draw against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. On 7 May Assombalonga scored the winner away at

MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

, his first senior goal since his injury. On the opening day of the 2016–17 season, Assombalonga started the first competitive match under new manager

Philippe Montanier Philippe Jacques William Montanier (born 15 November 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of club Toulouse. As a player, he was as a goalkeeper. Montanier led Boulogne, Lens and ...

and scored a brace at home against newly promoted

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

. The striker then reaffirmed his commitment to Forest by signing a new five-year contract on 2 September, tying him to the club until 2021. On 19 November, Assombalonga scored a brace against

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

, his first coming after only 17 seconds, which took his tally to six goals in eight games for the season. After the game, Assombalonga was described as the "best goalscorer in the league" by teammate Ben Osborn and "the best in the business outside of the Premier League" by former Forest defender

Kenny Burns Kenneth Burns (born 23 September 1953) is a former Scotland international footballer. The peak of his playing career was Nottingham Forest, with whom he won the 1977–78 Football League title and the FWA Player of the Year award. He also won ...

. Assombalonga missed Forest's next game – a 5–2 win at

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

– with a hamstring problem to continue his injury-hit start to the season. Assombalonga ended the season on a high, scoring his second brace against Ipswich Town on 7 May. With Forest remaining out of the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

relegation zone by virtue of a one-goal difference with

, Assombalonga's brace – one a penalty and the other an exquisite solo effort – either side of a

Chris Cohen Christopher or Chris Cohen may refer to: * Christopher A. Cohen, American producer, stage manager and director * Christopher B. Cohen, Chicago politician * Chris Cohen (footballer) * Chris Cohen (musician) {{hndis, Cohen, Christopher ...

goal ensured that Forest retained their Championship status at the expense of the Lancashire club. He ended the Championship season as Forest's top goalscorer, having scored 14 goals from 20 starts and 12 substitute appearances.

Middlesbrough

On 17 July 2017, Assombalonga signed for newly relegated

club

, for a reported club-record fee of £15 million. He scored his first goals for Middlesbrough when he scored twice in a 2–0 win against

on 15 August 2017. Middlesbrough did not offer him a renewal of his contract, due to expire at the end of the 2020–21 season, and manager

Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player who is currently football advisor at Torquay United. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed ...

confirmed on 21 April 2021 that he had been allowed to leave the club early.

Adana Demirspor

On 3 July 2021, Assombalonga signed a three-year deal with the newly-promoted

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

side

Adana Demirspor Adana Demirspor Kulübü is a multi-sports club based in Adana, Turkey. The football department is the most popular department which relegated to TFF 1. Lig on 16 March 2025 after 4 seasons at the Super Lig. Founded by railway workers of Turk ...

. On 29 January 2023, he had his contract terminated by mutual consent.

Return to Watford

On 29 January 2023, Assombalonga signed for

club

on a six-month contract. He scored his first goal for the club on 14 March 2023 in a 3–0 win against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

International career

Assombalonga was eligible to represent both

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

internationally. In August 2014, he was named on a 37-man provisional DR Congo squad list for the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches determined the participating teams for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. A total of 16 teams competed in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. Prior to November 2014, it was expected that Morocco woul ...

but withdrew from the final squad. On 4 November 2016, the

Nottingham Post The ''Nottingham Post'' (formerly the ''Nottingham Evening Post'') is an English tabloid newspaper which serves Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. The ''Post'' is published Monday to Saturday ...

reported that Assombalonga had accepted a call-up to the

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

national side for their away game against

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

on 13 November. Assombalonga was forced to pull out of the squad prior to the game as he was not cleared to play in time. That December, Assombalonga rejected the chance to represent DR Congo at the

2017 Africa Cup of Nations The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2017 or CAN 2017), known as the Total 2017 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football champions ...

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

, stating that he wanted to focus on playing games for Nottingham Forest after an injury-hit season. Assombalonga made his senior debut for DR Congo in a friendly 2–0 loss to

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

on 27 March 2018.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Assombalonga goal.''

Honours

Southend United *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

runner-up:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Peterborough United *Football League Trophy: 2013–14 Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2013–14 League One

References

External links