Emmanuel Longelo
English footballer (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emmanuel Longelo Mbule (born 27 December 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back for Scottish Premiership club Motherwell. Longelo began his career with West Ham United and played first-team football in the EFL Cup and the Europa League before joining Birmingham City, initially on loan, in 2022. He spent the 2024–25 season on loan at Cambridge United.
|
Longelo warming up for West Ham United in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Emmanuel Longelo Mbule[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 December 2000[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Barking, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.84 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Motherwell | ||
| Number | 45 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2020 | West Ham United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2023 | West Ham United | 0 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | → Birmingham City (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| 2023–2025 | Birmingham City | 25 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → Cambridge United (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| 2025– | Motherwell | 18 | (4) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 28 December 2025 | |||
Club career
West Ham United
Longelo started playing Sunday league football as a nine-year old for Euro Dagenham. He joined West Ham United's under-10 side playing as a midfielder and scored five goals on his debut, against Chelsea. Due to his pace he was moved to play as a striker. Playing for West Ham's under-23 team, Longelo played as a left-back.[3] On 21 September 2020, Longelo made his debut for West Ham in a 5–1 EFL Cup win against Hull City.[4]
Birmingham City
He joined Birmingham City on a season-long loan on 30 August 2022.[5] After recovering from injuries suffered earlier in the season,[6] he made his debut on 1 October, starting at left wing-back in a 1–1 draw away to Championship leaders Sheffield United.[7] In a 2–0 win over Queens Park Rangers on 28 October, he "received the ball on the left, twisted and turned past Ethan Laird and then found the bottom-right corner with a low curling finish"[8] to score his first senior goal, and later gave away a penalty which was saved by John Ruddy.[9]
Longelo signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Birmingham City on 31 January 2023. The fee, officially undisclosed, was reported by football.london as £400,000.[10][11] He lost his place for a time, but came back into the team at the end of the season, which he finished with 23 league appearances.[12][13][14] He began the 2023–24 season as a regular in the matchday squad,[15] and he and Cody Drameh had a run in the starting eleven when both full back, Ethan Laird and Lee Buchanan, were injured at the same time.[16] When Laird regained fitness, it was Longelo who lost the starting place,[17] and after Wayne Rooney was replaced as manager in January 2024, he did not play in the league again.[18][19]
Loan to Cambridge United
Longelo was not given a squad number by Birmingham at the start of the 2024–25 League One season, and after a proposed move to Barnsley fell through,[20] he joined Birmingham's divisional rivals Cambridge United on 22 August 2024 on loan for the season.[21] He made 19 appearances, scoring twice, in all competitions.[22]
Motherwell
On 10 July 2025, Longelo moved to Scottish Premiership club Motherwell for an undisclosed fee, signing a two year deal through 2027, with the option of a further year to extend the contract through 2028.[23]
Personal life
Longelo was born in Barking, London, and is of Congolese descent. His older brother, Rosaire, played alongside him at West Ham before joining Newcastle United.[24]
Career statistics
- As of end of 2024–25 season
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| West Ham United U23 | 2018–19[25] | — | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20[26] | — | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21[27] | — | — | — | — | 4[a] | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22[28] | — | — | — | — | 3[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |||||
| West Ham United | 2020–21[27] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021–22[28] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022–23[14] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Birmingham City | 2022–23[14][c] | Championship | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24[19] | Championship | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25[22] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 40 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 45 | 1 | |||
| Cambridge United (loan) | 2024–25[22][d] | League One | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[a] | 1 | 19 | 2 | |
| Career total | 55 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 77 | 3 | ||
- Appearances in EFL Trophy
- Appearance in UEFA Europa League
- Longelo spent the first half of the 2022–23 season on loan from West Ham United.