Nathan Tella

Nathan Tella
Personal information
Full name Nathan Adewale Temitayo Tella[1]
Date of birth (1999-07-05) 5 July 1999 (age 25)[2]
Place of birth Stevenage, England
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, right winger
Team information
Current team
 Bayer Leverkusen
Number 19
Youth career
2007–2017 Arsenal
2017–2020 Southampton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2023 Southampton 36 (2)
2022–2023 → Burnley (loan) 39 (17)
2023– Bayer Leverkusen 31 (5)
International career‡
2023– Nigeria 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:57, 23 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2023

Nathan Adewale Temitayo Tella (born 5 July 1999)[3] is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or right winger for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. Born in England, he plays for the Nigeria national team.[4]

Club career

Early career

Nathan Tella grew up in Stevenage, Hertfordshire and was educated at Edwinstree Middle School and then Freman College, both in the town of Buntingford. He left following his GCSE exams in 2015.[citation needed] After ten years with Arsenal,[5] Tella spent time on trial at Reading[6] and Norwich City, before joining Southampton in April 2017.[7]

Southampton

In July 2019, he extended his contract with the club for a further year,[8] before signing a further three-year extension in July 2020.[9] On 19 June 2020, Tella made his senior debut as a substitute in a 3–0 victory against Norwich City.[10] On 11 February 2021, he made his first goal contribution by providing an assist to Stuart Armstrong's goal in a 2–0 FA Cup fifth round win against Wolverhampton Wanderers.[11] On 23 February, Tella made his first Premier League start in a 3–0 defeat to Leeds United.[12] On 15 May, Tella scored his first Premier League goal in a 3–1 win against Fulham.[13]

On 6 January 2022, Tella signed a new three-and-a-half contract with Southampton.[14]

Burnley (loan)

On 11 August 2022, Tella joined Burnley on a season-long loan.[15] On 11 February 2023, he scored a first career hat-trick in a 3–0 victory over Preston North End, his side's tenth consecutive league victory,[16] and a month later scored a second hat-trick in a 3–1 victory over Hull City.[17]

Bayer Leverkusen

On 27 August 2023, Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen announced the signing of Tella on a five-year contract,[18][19] for a reported fee of £20 million.[20] He made his first appearance for the club on 2 September 2023 in a 5–1 victory against SV Darmstadt 98, replacing Jeremie Frimpong in the 72nd minute.[21] On 5 October 2023, Tella scored his first goal for Bayer Leverkusen in a 1–2 victory against Molde in the Europa League.[22]

International career

On 10 November 2023, Tella was called up by Nigeria head coach, José Peseiro for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe.[23][24]

Personal life

Born in England, Tella is of Nigerian descent.[25][26]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 November 2024[27]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Southampton U23 2017–18[5] — — — — 2[c] 0 2 0
2018–19[28] — — — — 3[c] 0 3 0
2020–21[29] — — — — 1[c] 0 1 0
Total — — — — 6 0 6 0
Southampton 2019–20[30] Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 — — 1 0
2020–21[29] Premier League 18 1 3 0 1 0 — — 22 1
2021–22[31] Premier League 14 0 1 0 3 1 — — 18 1
2023–24[32] Championship 3 1 — — — — 3 1
Total 36 2 4 0 4 1 — — 44 3
Burnley (loan) 2022–23[33] Championship 39 17 5 2 1 0 — — 45 19
Bayer Leverkusen 2023–24[34] Bundesliga 24 5 4 0 — 11[d] 1 — 39 6
2024–25[35] Bundesliga 7 0 2 0 — 4[e] 0 1[f] 0 14 0
Total 31 5 6 0 — 15 1 1 0 53 6
Career total 106 24 15 2 5 1 15 1 7 0 148 28
  1. ^ Includes FA Cup, DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  6. ^ Appearance in DFL-Supercup

International

As of match played 19 November 2023[36]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Nigeria 2023 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours

Burnley

Bayer Leverkusen

Individual

References

  1. ^ "List of Players Registered as Scholars in Accordance with Rule C.3 Between 01/04/2017 and 30/04/2017". The Football Association. p. 7. Archived from the original on 24 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Nathan Tella". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Nathan Tella". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Southampton's Nathan Tella expresses desire to play for Nigeria". Punch Newspapers. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Games played by Nathan Tella in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Reading FC transfers: Arsenal winger on trial with Royals". getreading.co.uk. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Saints sign youngster Tella". Southampton F.C. 21 April 2017. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Academy youngsters secure fresh deals". Southampton F.C. 7 July 2019. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Tella commits long-term future". Southampton FC. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Norwich 0–3 Southampton". BBC Sport. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–2 Southampton: Hasenhuttl says Saints want cup". BBC Sport. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  12. ^ Rose, Dan (25 February 2021). "Hasenhuttl says Tella 'takes responsibility' after earning his first Premier League start". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Tella scores as Southampton beat Fulham". BBC Sport. 15 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  14. ^ House, Alfie (6 January 2022). "Nathan Tella signs brand-new contract with Southampton". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Tella relishing Clarets move". Burnley FC. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Burnley 3–0 Preston North End". BBC Sport. 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Hull City 1–3 Burnley". BBC Sport. 15 March 2023.
  18. ^ "New winger for the Werkself: Bayer 04 sign Nathan Tella". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  19. ^ "Tella departs for Bayer Leverkusen". Southampton FC. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Forward Tella joins Bayer Leverkusen from Southampton". Reuters. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Bayer Leverkusen 5–1 SV Darmstadt 98". ESPN. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  22. ^ "2–1 in Molde – early double whammy paves the way". Bayer Leverkusen FC. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  23. ^ Oguntimehin, Ayomide (10 November 2023). "Peseiro hands Bayer Leverkusen's Nathan Tella a debut Super Eagles call-up". Socceret.ng. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  24. ^ Ogunseyin, Oluyemi (10 November 2023). "2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Nathan Tella gets first Eagles call-up, Musa, Troost-Ekong dropped". guardian.ng. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  25. ^ "Promising Arsenal Winger Nathan Tella Eager To Play For Nigeria Ahead Of England :: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com.
  26. ^ Abayomi, Tosin (16 January 2022). "'Sorting out my passport' - Southampton's Nathan Tella ready to dump England for 'dream' Super Eagles". Pulse Nigeria. Archived from the original on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  27. ^ "Nathan Tella". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  28. ^ "Games played by Nathan Tella in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  29. ^ a b "Games played by Nathan Tella in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  30. ^ "Games played by Nathan Tella in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  31. ^ "Games played by Nathan Tella in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  32. ^ "Games played by Nathan Tella in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  33. ^ "Games played by Nathan Tella in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  34. ^ "Games played by Nathan Tella in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  35. ^ "Games played by Nathan Tella in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  36. ^ "Nathan Tella". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  37. ^ Long, Dan (25 April 2023). "Blackburn Rovers 0–1 Burnley: Vincent Kompany's Clarets clinch Championship title after Manuel Benson stunner". Sky Sports. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  38. ^ Whelan, Padraig (14 April 2024). "Bayer Leverkusen crowned German champions for first time". OneFootball. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  39. ^ "Bayer Leverkusen battle back to beat VfB Stuttgart on penalties in Supercup". Bundesliga. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  40. ^ "The winner of the PFA Vertu Motors Championship Fans' Player of the Month - March". 90min.com. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  41. ^ "EFL Team of the Season line-ups revealed". English Football League. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  42. ^ "Erling Haaland: Manchester City forward wins PFA men's Player of the Year award". BBC Sport. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.