Henry Chukwuemeka Onyekuru (born 5 June 1997) is a Nigerian 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 plays as a winger for

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 ...

club Gençlerbirliği, and the Nigeria national team.

Club career

Eupen

Onyekuru began his football career with the

Aspire Academy Aspire Academy () is a sports academy based in the Aspire Zone in Qatar, founded in 2004 with the goal to scout and help develop Qatari athletes, whilst also providing them with secondary school education. History Aspire Academy was establis ...

in 2010, and graduated in 2015 joining their partner club,

K.A.S. Eupen K.A.S. Eupen (short for Königliche Allgemeine Sportvereinigung Eupen, English: ''Royal General Sports Association Eupen'', simply referred to as Eupen) is a Belgian professional association football club located in Eupen, Liège (province), Prov ...

. 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 The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

. Onyekuru helped the team get promoted to the

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

in his debut season, and made his professional debut in a 3–0 loss on 30 July 2016 against

S.V. Zulte Waregem Sportvereniging Zulte Waregem (), commonly known as Zulte Waregem or by their nickname Essevee (), is a Belgian professional association football, football club based in Waregem, West Flanders. The club set to play in Belgian Pro League from 2025� ...

. 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. He finished the 2016–17 season as joint top-scorer with 22 goals, but the trophy was handed to

Łukasz Teodorczyk Łukasz Teodorczyk (; born 3 June 1991) is a Polish former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Club career Early career Having joined Polonia Warsaw in January 2010, Teodorczyk m ...

as he scored more away goals than Onyekuru.

Everton

On 30 June 2017, Onyekuru joined Everton for £7 million and was immediately sent on loan to

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

. Onyekuru had been handed the number nine jersey at Anderlecht for the 2017–18 campaign. 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". In January 2018, it was reported that Onyekuru would return to Anderlecht after rehabilitation and full recovery.

Loan to Galatasaray

In July 2018, Onyekuru joined

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

on a season-long loan. The loan fee paid to Everton was reported as £700,000. On 20 May 2019, Onyekuru was on the scoresheet for Galatasaray as they defeated title challengers

İstanbul Başakşehir Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

2–1 to secure the

championship for the second straight season. The victory also meant that Galatasaray secured the domestic double having defeated

Akhisar Belediyespor Akhisarspor Kulübü (), commonly known as Akhisarspor, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Akhisar.

in the

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

final the week prior.

Monaco

Having failed to ever secure a work permit in the UK, Onyekuru joined

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...

on a permanent transfer on 12 August 2019. The fee was undisclosed (rumoured to be between £12-£15 million) and Onyekuru signed a five-year deal with the

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club.

Return to Galatasaray on loan

On 5 January 2020, Onyekuru signed for

, his former club, on a six-month loan with no option to buy. He left after his loan ended in June, making a total of twelve appearances and scoring one goal. On 25 January 2021, Onyekuru once again signed for Galatasaray on a six-month loan, this time with an option to buy.

Olympiacos

On 2 August 2021,

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

announced the signing of Onyekuru for a four-year deal for an undisclosed amount.

Al-Fayha

On 11 August 2023, Onyekuru joined

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

club Al-Fayha on a two-year contract.

International career

Onyekuru was called up for the Super Eagles camp in May 2017. He made his senior debut for Nigeria in a 3–0 friendly win over

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

on 1 June 2017. 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 The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total SE, Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's associati ...

in Egypt. 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 Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. 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.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Onyekuru goal.''

Honours

Anderlecht *

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( ; ; ), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian Pro League champions (also received the Super Cup host) and the Belgian Cup winners. If both teams are the same, ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Galatasaray *

: 2018–19 *

: 2018–19 Olympiacos *

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

: 2021–22

References

External links

* * * *
Profile
at the Everton F.C. website
Onyekuru Eupen Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onyekuru, Henry 1997 births Living people People from Onitsha Men's association football forwards Nigerian men's footballers Nigeria men's international footballers K.A.S. Eupen players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Everton F.C. players Galatasaray S.K. footballers AS Monaco FC players Olympiacos F.C. players Al-Fayha FC players Adana Demirspor footballers Süper Lig players Belgian Pro League players Challenger Pro League players Super League Greece players Saudi Pro League players Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Aspire Academy (Senegal) players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen Expatriate men's footballers in England