Elijah Adebayo
English footballer (born 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elijah Anuoluwapo Oluwaferanmi Oluwatomi Oluwalana Ayomikulehin Adebayo (born 7 January 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League One club Luton Town.
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Adebayo with Luton Town in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Elijah Anuoluwapo Oluwaferanmi Oluwatomi Oluwalana Ayomikulehin Adebayo[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 7 January 1998[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Brent, England[3] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Luton Town | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2016 | Fulham | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | Fulham | 0 | (0) |
| 2016 | → Slough Town (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2017 | → Bognor Regis Town (loan) | 6 | (5) |
| 2018 | → Cheltenham Town (loan) | 7 | (2) |
| 2018–2019 | → Swindon Town (loan) | 25 | (5) |
| 2019 | → Stevenage (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Walsall | 55 | (18) |
| 2021– | Luton Town | 168 | (43) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:00, 17 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Career
Fulham
Early career and non-league loans
Adebayo joined Fulham at under-9 level, and signed a scholarship in August 2014.[4] He signed a one-year professional contract in July 2015.[5]
He was sent on a one-month loan to Slough Town at the end of October 2016, and scored a hat-trick on his competitive debut in a 4–1 FA Trophy win over Bognor Regis Town on 29 October.[6][2] In November, his loan was extended to January 2017.[7] He returned to Fulham following 6 goals in 11 appearances for Slough.[6][8]
Adebayo then moved on loan to Bognor Regis later that season, on 9 January 2017.[9] He made his debut on 10 January in a 3–1 victory over Shoreham in a Sussex Senior Challenge Cup match.[9] His league debut came on 14 January against Enfield Town; the match finished 1–1 with Adebayo scoring the equaliser.[9] He scored a second-half hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Canvey Island on 21 January.[9] He finished his loan with 5 goals in 7 appearances.[9] Adebayo extended his contract with Fulham for another year in July 2017.[10]
Cheltenham Town (loan)
After extending his Fulham contract by 18 months, Adebayo moved on loan to League Two side Cheltenham Town in January 2018.[11][12] He made his debut on 13 January in a 2–0 defeat to Accrington Stanley.[13] He scored on 20 January in a 3–2 defeat to Mansfield Town after coming on for injured Mohamed Eisa.[14][15] Adebayo scored twice in 7 appearances before his loan ended.[16]
Swindon Town (loan)
On 7 July 2018, Adebayo joined League Two side Swindon Town on a season-long loan.[17] He started his debut on 4 August in a 3–2 win over Macclesfield Town.[18] He scored his first goal in a 3–2 victory against Tranmere Rovers on 19 August.[19] Adebayo had a promising start at Swindon, scoring 4 goals in his first 12 appearances; however this was followed by 1 goal in 14 games.[20] Adebayo was subsequently recalled by Fulham in January 2019, with manager Richie Wellens stating, "I was disappointed that he turned up late several times and didn't perform to the level I expected."[21][22]
Stevenage (loan)
On 31 January 2019 Adebayo moved on loan to Stevenage for the rest of the season.[23][24] He faced a straight red card on his debut for elbowing an opposition player in a 2–0 defeat to Tranmere.[25] Adebayo finished his loan with only 2 appearances for Stevenage.[26]
He was released by Fulham at the end of the 2018–19 season.[27]
Walsall
Following his release from Fulham, Adebayo signed for League Two club Walsall in June 2019.[28][29] He made his debut on 3 August, starting in a 1–0 win over Northampton Town.[30] He scored his first goal of the season on 28 September in a 3–2 win over Crawley Town.[31] He finished his debut Walsall season with 8 goals in 37 appearances.[30] The season was ended early because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[32]
Adebayo extended his contract by one year in June 2020.[32] He scored the winner in Walsall's first league match of the season, a 1–0 victory against Grimsby Town on 12 September.[33] In January 2021, following rumours that Scottish side Heart of Midlothian had agreed terms with Adebayo, Walsall released a statement denying the claims.[34][35]
Luton Town
On 1 February 2021, Adebayo signed for Championship side Luton Town for an undisclosed fee.[36] He scored on his first start in a 1–1 draw against Millwall on 23 February 2021.[37] In October 2022 he took time away due to off-field problems.[38] He suffered racist abuse in October 2022, the third time in 12 months,[39] and again in October 2023.[40]
On 30 January 2024, Adebayo became the first Luton Town player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League in a 4–0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.[41]
After picking up an injury in February, Adebayo scored on his return to the team on 3 May 2024, at home to Everton.[42]
Adebayo suffered an ACL injury in April 2025.[43] In November 2025 he stated that he had restarted light training.[44] He returned to the squad on 14 March 2026 as a substitute against Wycombe Wanderers, but suffered a hip injury shortly after. On 24 March 2026, he was ruled out for the rest of the 2025–26 season.[45]
Personal life
Adebayo was born in England and is of Nigerian descent.[46]
Style of play
Primarily a forward, Adebayo has also played as a central defender.[47]
Career statistics
- As of match played 17 March 2026
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Fulham | 2016–17[48] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017–18[49] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018–19[26] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Slough Town (loan) | 2016–17[8] | Southern League Premier Division | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 5[a] | 5 | 11 | 6 | |
| Cheltenham Town (loan) | 2017–18[49] | League Two | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| Swindon Town (loan) | 2018–19[26] | League Two | 25 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 30 | 5 |
| Stevenage (loan) | 2018–19[26] | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Walsall | 2019–20[30] | League Two | 30 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 37 | 8 |
| 2020–21[50] | League Two | 25 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 28 | 10 | |
| Total | 55 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 65 | 18 | ||
| Luton Town | 2020–21[50] | Championship | 18 | 5 | — | — | — | 18 | 5 | |||
| 2021–22[51] | Championship | 40 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 42 | 17 | |
| 2022–23[52] | Championship | 42 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3[c] | 1 | 49 | 10 | |
| 2023–24[53] | Premier League | 27 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 10 | ||
| 2024–25[54] | Championship | 39 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 41 | 5 | ||
| 2025–26[55] | League One | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 168 | 43 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 184 | 47 | ||
| Career total | 263 | 69 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 6 | 299 | 78 | ||
- Four appearances and three goals in FA Trophy, one appearance and two goals in Berks & Bucks Senior Cup
- Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
- Appearance(s) in Championship play-offs
Honours
Luton Town