Jerome Opoku

Jerome Opoku
Personal information
Full name Jerome Osei Opoku[1]
Date of birth (1998-10-14) 14 October 1998 (age 26)[1]
Place of birth Lambeth, England
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 5+1⁄2 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 İstanbul Başakşehir
Number 3
Youth career
2009–2019 Fulham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2022 Fulham 0 (0)
2019–2020 → Accrington Stanley (loan) 21 (0)
2020–2021 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 33 (1)
2021–2022 → Vejle (loan) 20 (0)
2022–2024 Arouca 26 (0)
2023–2024 → İstanbul Başakşehir (loan) 28 (4)
2024– İstanbul Başakşehir 10 (2)
International career‡
2023– Ghana 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 June 2024

Jerome Osei Opoku (born 14 October 1998) is a professional footballer. He plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club İstanbul Başakşehir. Born in England, he plays for the Ghana national team.

Club career

He captained the Fulham U23's at the end of the 2018–19 season.[3]

On 2 September 2019, Opoku was sent on loan to League One side Accrington Stanley in order to gain first team experience.[4] He made his Accrington debut against Bristol Rovers on 7 September 2019 in an eventual 3–3 draw. After a 3–1 defeat to Sunderland, in an interview he claimed he would play anywhere the coach put him.[5]

On 25 September 2020, Opoku joined League One side Plymouth Argyle on loan until January.[6]

On 30 July 2021, Opoku was loaned out again, this time to Danish Superliga club Vejle Boldklub, for the entire 2021–22 season.[7]

On 24 June 2022, Opoku joined Portuguese Primeira Liga side Arouca on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract.[8][9]

On 14 September 2023, Opoku signed a one-year contract extension with Arouca, until 2026,[10] and was immediately sent on a season-long loan to Süper Lig side İstanbul Başakşehir.[11]

International career

Born in England, Opoku is of Ghanaian descent.[12] On 18 October 2023, he debuted for the Ghana national team team in a friendly loss to the United States national team.[13]

Career statistics

As of match played 20 August 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Fulham U21 2017–18[14] Premier League 2 — 1[a] 0 1 0
2018–19[15] Premier League 2 — 2[b] 0 2 0
Total — 3 0 3 0
Accrington Stanley (loan) 2019–20[16] League One 21 0 1 0 0 0 — 3[b] 0 25 0
Plymouth Argyle (loan) 2020–21[17] League One 33 1 4 0 0 0 — 1[b] 0 38 1
Vejle Boldklub (loan) 2021–22[18] Danish Superliga 20 0 6 0 — — — 26 0
Arouca 2022–23 Primeira Liga 24 0 2 0 3 1 — — 29 1
2023–24 Primeira Liga 2 0 0 0 0 0 2[c] 0 — 4 0
Total 26 0 2 0 3 1 2 0 — 33 1
İstanbul Başakşehir 2023–24 Süper Lig 0 0 0 0 — — — 0 0
Total 100 1 13 0 3 1 2 0 7 0 125 2
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in the EFL Trophy
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League

References

  1. ^ a b Jerome Opoku at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  2. ^ "Jerome Opoku". Fulham F.C. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  3. ^ "JEROME OPOKU FULHAM PROFILE".
  4. ^ "ACCRINGTON SIGN JEROME ON LOAN". BBC Sport.
  5. ^ "JEROME OPOKU READY TO PLAY ANYWHERE". Lancashire Telegraph. 17 September 2019.
  6. ^ "On-Loan Opoku". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  7. ^ Vejle Boldklub lejer talentfuld forsvarsspiller i Fulham F.C. Archived 2 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine, vejle-boldklub.dk, 30 July 2021
  8. ^ @OficialFCArouca (24 June 2022). "Bem-vindo a familia, Jerome" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 June 2022 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Jerome Opoku assina com o Arouca por três épocas" [Jerome Opoku signs with Arouca for three seasons] (in European Portuguese). Record. 24 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Jerome Opoku renova com o Arouca e sai por empréstimo para o Basaksehir" [Jerome Opoku renews with Arouca and leaves on loan to Basaksehir] (in European Portuguese). Record. 14 September 2023.
  11. ^ "HOŞ GELDİN JEROME OPOKU" [Welcome Jerome Opoku] (in Turkish). İstanbul Başakşehir FK. 14 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Ghanaian defender Jerome Opoku in line for contract extension at Fulham". Footballghana.
  13. ^ https://getsportsgh.com/2023/10/18/jerome-opoku-makes-ghana-debut-against-usa/ [bare URL]
  14. ^ "Games played by Jerome Opoku in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Games played by Jerome Opoku in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  16. ^ "Games played by Jerome Opoku in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  17. ^ "Games played by Jerome Opoku in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  18. ^ "Games played by Jerome Opoku in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2020.