Henry Onyekuru
Nigerian footballer (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry Chukwuemeka Onyekuru ⓘ (born 5 June 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Turkish Süper Lig club Gençlerbirliği and the Nigeria national team.[2]
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Henry Chukwuemeka Onyekuru[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 5 June 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Gençlerbirliği | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2015 | Aspire Academy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Eupen | 57 | (28) |
| 2017–2019 | Everton | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Anderlecht (loan) | 19 | (9) |
| 2018–2019 | → Galatasaray (loan) | 31 | (14) |
| 2019–2021 | Monaco | 8 | (0) |
| 2020 | → Galatasaray (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2021 | → Galatasaray (loan) | 14 | (5) |
| 2021–2023 | Olympiacos | 14 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | → Adana Demirspor (loan) | 28 | (8) |
| 2023 | Adana Demirspor | 0 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Al-Fayha | 31 | (10) |
| 2025– | Gençlerbirliği | 8 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017–2022 | Nigeria | 15 | (1) |
Medal record | |||
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22 November 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 19 January 2022 | |||
Club career
Eupen
Onyekuru began his football career with the Aspire Academy in 2010, and graduated in 2015 joining their partner club, K.A.S. Eupen.[3] He made his debut for Eupen on 5 September 2015 in a 2–2 tie against K.F.C. Dessel Sport in the Belgian Second Division.[4] Onyekuru helped the team get promoted to the Belgian First Division A in his debut season, and made his professional debut in a 3–0 loss on 30 July 2016 against S.V. Zulte Waregem.[5] After a successful season in the Belgium first division, Onyekuru finished as one of the top scorers in the league, catching the attention of various larger teams in Europe.[6] He finished the 2016–17 season as joint top-scorer with 22 goals, but the trophy was handed to Łukasz Teodorczyk as he scored more away goals than Onyekuru.[7]
Everton
On 30 June 2017, Onyekuru joined Everton for £7 million and was immediately sent on loan to Anderlecht.[8] Onyekuru had been handed the number nine jersey at Anderlecht for the 2017–18 campaign.[9]
Having scored 10 goals in 28 matches for Anderlecht, Onyekuru suffered a knee ligament injury in December which would require surgery. Anderlecht announced surgery would be necessary and that he would be out of action "for several months".[10] In January 2018, it was reported that Onyekuru would return to Anderlecht after rehabilitation and full recovery.[11]
Loan to Galatasaray
In July 2018, Onyekuru joined Galatasaray on a season-long loan.[12] The loan fee paid to Everton was reported as £700,000.[13] On 20 May 2019, Onyekuru was on the scoresheet for Galatasaray as they defeated title challengers İstanbul Başakşehir 2–1 to secure the Süper Lig championship for the second straight season.[14] The victory also meant that Galatasaray secured the domestic double having defeated Akhisar Belediyespor in the Turkish Cup final the week prior.[14][15][16]
Monaco
Having failed to ever secure a work permit in the UK, Onyekuru joined AS Monaco on a permanent transfer on 12 August 2019.[17][18] The fee was undisclosed (rumoured to be between £12-£15 million) and Onyekuru signed a five-year deal with the Ligue 1 club.[19]
Return to Galatasaray on loan
On 5 January 2020, Onyekuru signed for Galatasaray, his former club, on a six-month loan with no option to buy.[20] He left after his loan ended in June, making a total of twelve appearances and scoring one goal.[21]
On 25 January 2021, Onyekuru once again signed for Galatasaray on a six-month loan, this time with an option to buy.[22][23]
Olympiacos
On 2 August 2021, Olympiacos announced the signing of Onyekuru for a four-year deal for an undisclosed amount.[24]
Al-Fayha
On 11 August 2023, Onyekuru joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Fayha on a two-year contract.[25]
Gençlerbirliği
On 23 July 2025, Onyekuru joined Süper Lig club Gençlerbirliği on a free transfer.[26]
International career
Onyekuru was called up for the Super Eagles camp in May 2017.[27] He made his senior debut for Nigeria in a 3–0 friendly win over Togo on 1 June 2017.[28]
After a strong 2018–19 club season with Galatasaray, Onyekuru was included in Nigeria's final 23-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.[29][30] He played for 12 minutes at the finals, coming on as a late substitute in their 1–2 semi-final defeat to eventual champions Algeria.[31][32]
Onyekuru was invited by the national coach as part of the squad to face Ukraine in an international friendly on the 10 of September 2019.[33][34]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 26 May 2025[35]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Eupen | 2015–16 | Belgian Second Division | 19 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 6 | ||
| 2016–17 | Belgian Pro League | 38 | 22 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 41 | 24 | |||
| Total | 57 | 28 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 60 | 30 | ||||
| Everton | 2017–18 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Anderlecht (loan) | 2017–18 | Belgian Pro League | 19 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 28 | 10 |
| Galatasaray (loan) | 2018–19 | Süper Lig | 31 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 7[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 16 |
| Monaco | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Galatasaray (loan) | 2019–20 | Süper Lig | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | Süper Lig | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 5 | |||
| Total | 24 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 6 | ||||
| Olympiacos | 2021–22 | Super League Greece | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10[e] | 1 | — | 27 | 1 | |
| Adana Demirspor (loan) | 2022–23 | Süper Lig | 18 | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 8 | ||
| Al-Fayha | 2023–24 | Saudi Pro League | 27 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 6[f] | 1 | — | 34 | 11 | |
| 2024–25 | Saudi Pro League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 31 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 38 | 11 | |||
| Gençlerbirliği | 2025–26 | Süper Lig | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 195 | 75 | 20 | 5 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 245 | 82 | ||
- Includes Belgian Cup, Turkish Cup, Greek Football Cup, King's Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in Belgian Super Cup
- Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in AFC Champions League
International
- As of match played on 19 January 2022[36]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 1 | |
- As of goal scored 22 March 2019
- Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Onyekuru goal.[36]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 22 March 2019 | Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, Nigeria |  Seychelles | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
Honours
Anderlecht
Galatasaray
Olympiacos
