Samuel Kalu Ojim (born 26 August 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 le ...

who plays as winger for

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

and the Nigeria national team.

Club career

Kalu started his football career at GBS Academy in

Jos Jos is a city in the north central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State. During British ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

AS Trenčín

On 9 December 2015, Kalu agreed to sign a two-year contract with Slovak side

AS Trenčín AS Trenčín () is a Slovakia, Slovak sports club in the town of Trenčín, most known for its association football, football department. The first team currently plays in the Slovak Super Liga, Fortuna Liga after winning the 2010–11 Slovak Fi ...

, a partner club with GBS Academy at the time. He made his professional debut for Trenčín against Slovan Bratislava on 27 February 2016.

Gent

On 4 January 2017, after his impressive displays in the

Slovak League Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arka ...

with Trenčín, Kalu was transferred to Belgium top division club KAA Gent.

Bordeaux

On 6 August 2018, Kalu signed for

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

side

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, signing a five-year contract. He was handed the number 10 jersey on arrival. On 15 August 2021, Kalu collapsed in a game against

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. He was able to get up and walk off the pitch with his teammates’ help while holding an ice pack against his head. Eight minutes later, he was substituted off for

Rémi Oudin Rémi Oudin (born 18 November 1996) is a French professional footballer who plays for club Lecce. A versatile player, Oudin can play as a winger, left midfielder, central midfielder or forward. Club career Oudin is a youth exponent from Reims ...

Watford

On 26 January 2022, Kalu joined

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

on a three-and-a-half year deal until 2025.

International career

On 13 October 2018, he scored his first international goal with the Nigeria senior national team against

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. He scored the final goal in a 4–0 victory. Kalu collapsed whilst participating in a team training session during the AFCON 2019 held in Egypt. Though rumours had it that he suffered a heart attack, this was later debunked as he collapsed as a result of severe dehydration. He was later released from the hospital to link up with the rest of the squad in Alexandria.

Personal life

Kalu's mother was released on 5 March 2019, having been kidnapped six days previously.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first.''

References

External links

* *
Futbalnet Profile

AS Trenčín official club profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalu, Samuel 1997 births Living people Nigerian footballers Nigerian expatriate footballers Association football wingers AS Trenčín players K.A.A. Gent players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Watford F.C. players Slovak Super Liga players Belgian First Division A players Ligue 1 players Premier League players People from Aba, Abia Sportspeople from Abia State 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players Expatriate footballers in Slovakia Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Expatriate footballers in Belgium Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate footballers in France Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in England Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in England Nigeria international footballers