Bobby Adekanye

Bobby Adekanye

Adekanye with Go Ahead Eagles in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Omobolaji Habeeb Adekanye[1]
Date of birth	(1999-02-14) 14 February 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth	Ibadan, Nigeria[2]
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Go Ahead Eagles
Number	11
Youth career
	Alphia
	Ajax
2011–2014	Barcelona
2014–2015	PSV Eindhoven
2015–2019	Liverpool
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2022	Lazio	11	(1)
2020–2021	→ Cádiz (loan)	3	(0)
2021	→ ADO Den Haag (loan)	14	(2)
2022	→ Crotone (loan)	4	(0)
2022–	Go Ahead Eagles	73	(7)
International career^‡
2015	Netherlands U16	8	(0)
2015	Netherlands U17	3	(1)
2019	Netherlands U20	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:51, 27 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 September 2019

Omobolaji Habeeb "Bobby" Adekanye (born 14 February 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Eredivisie club Go Ahead Eagles.^[3] Born in Nigeria, Adekanye represents the Netherlands internationally.

Club career

Barcelona scandal

Adekanye signed to Liverpool from FC Barcelona in 2015 having previously been at AFC Ajax. Adekanye was forced to leave Barcelona when they were found to have broken FIFA's rules on signing underage players. Adekanye was one of six youth players barred from playing again for Barcelona by FIFA.^[4] Barcelona were also given a one-year transfer ban and fined £306,000.^[4]

Racism scandal

Spartak Moscow were charged by UEFA over alleged racist behaviour by their supporters towards Adekanye during a UEFA Youth League match against Liverpool.^[5] Despite being found guilty, in the next match they played Liverpool again had to report Spartak Moscow fans for racist chants towards another of their players, Rhian Brewster.^[6]

Lazio

Adekanye moved to Italian club Lazio on 3 July 2019.^[7] Adekanye made his debut for Lazio on 19 September 2019 in the UEFA Europa League against CFR Cluj.^[8] He made his Serie A debut on 29 September 2019 against Genoa. On 28 November 2019, he played for the first time as starter in Europa League against Cluj.^[9]

Loan to Cádiz

On 5 October 2020, Adekanye joined La Liga side Cádiz CF on loan for the 2020–21 season.^[10] The deal, however, was called off midway through the season, with Adekanye having made five appearances for the Spanish side.^[11]

Loan to ADO Den Haag

On 28 January 2021, Adekanye moved to Eredivisie club ADO Den Haag on a loan deal until the end of the season.^[12]

Loan to Crotone

On 30 January 2022, Adekanye was loaned to Crotone in Serie B until the end of the season.^[13]

Go Ahead Eagles

On 21 June 2022, Adekanye joined Go Ahead Eagles on a two-year contract.^[14]

International career

Although born in Nigeria, Adekanye has represented the Netherlands at international youth levels having moved there at the age of 4.^[15]

Honours

Lazio

• Supercoppa Italiana: 2019

Individual

• Eredivisie Team of the Month: January 2023,^[16]

References

1. "2018/19 Premier League squads confirmed". www.premierleague.com.
2. "Ibadan-born star quit Liverpool after rejecting 3 years deal - FCNaija". Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
3. Bobby Adekanye at Soccerway
4. Rumsby, Ben (2 April 2014). "Barcelona handed one-year transfer ban for breaking rules over international transfer of under-18s". The Telegraph.
5. "Spartak Moscow charged over alleged racist abuse of Liverpool winger". The Independent. 4 October 2017.
6. Hunter, Andy (6 December 2017). "Liverpool to report Spartak Moscow over alleged racial abuse of Rhian Brewster". The Guardian.
7. Babalola, Oluwatomiwa (3 July 2019). "Lazio sign Nigerian star Bobby Adekanye from Liverpool on a long term deal". www.legit.ng.
8. "CFR Cluj vs. Lazio - 19 September 2019 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com.
9. "Correa trascina la Lazio, Cluj sconfitto 1-0: la qualificazione è ancora possibile". gazzetta.it (in Italian). 28 November 2019.
10. "Adekanye, velocidad para el ataque" [Adekanye, speed for the attack] (in Spanish). Cádiz CF. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
11. "El Cádiz pone fin a la cesión de Bobby Adekanye" [Cádiz puts an end to Bobby Adekanye's loan] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
12. Heyes, Apollo (28 January 2021). "Official: Lazio Forward Bobby Adekanye Has Joined Ado Den Haag on Loan". The Laziali. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
13. "Un altro innesto per l'attacco. Benvenuto Adekanye!" (Press release) (in Italian). Crotone. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
14. "BOBBY ADEKANYE: 'FANTASTISCH HOE 10.000 FANS GELUID MAKEN VOOR 20.000'" (in Dutch). Go Ahead Eagles. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
15. "Bobby Adekanye". Liverpool FC. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
16. "Nick Olij named Eredivisie Player of the Month for January". Eredivisie. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.

External links

• Bobby Adekanye – UEFA competition record (archive)