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Oscar Gloukh

Israeli footballer (born 2004) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oscar Gloukh[α] (Hebrew: אוסקר גלוך, Hebrew pronunciation: [ˈoskaʁ ˈɡloχ] GLOKH; born 1 April 2004) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Israel national team.

Date of birth (2004-04-01) 1 April 2004 (age 22)
Place of birth Rehovot, Israel
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Positions
Quick facts Personal information, Date of birth ...
Oscar Gloukh
אוסקר גלוך
Gloukh with Ajax in 2026
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-04-01) 1 April 2004 (age 22)
Place of birth Rehovot, Israel
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Positions
Team information
Current team
Ajax
Number 10
Youth career
2009–2010 Maccabi Sha'arayim
2010–2022 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Maccabi Tel Aviv 25 (7)
2023–2025 Red Bull Salzburg 70 (19)
2025– Ajax 35 (7)
International career‡
2019–2020 Israel U16 7 (1)
2021 Israel U18 3 (1)
2021–2022 Israel U19 16 (4)
2022–2023 Israel U21 9 (0)
2024 Israel Olympic 3 (2)
2022– Israel 29 (5)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Israel
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Runner-up2022 SlovakiaTeam
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:04, 15 September 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 19:35, 3 June 2026 (UTC)
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Early life

Oscar Gloukh was born on (2004-04-01)1 April 2004[5][6] in Rehovot, Israel[7] and grew up in the Sha'arayim neighbourhood,[8] about 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Tel Aviv.[9][10] He is the son of Maxim Gloukh, a former professional footballer of Russian Jewish descent who made aliyah with his family at 13 years old.[9][10][11][12] Once a forward,[11][12] Maxim played in Ukraine and Moldova,[13] and now runs an independent customs inspection business in Ashdod with his wife.[11][12]

Club career

Gloukh warming up ahead of a match with Red Bull Salzburg in 2023

Maccabi Tel Aviv

Gloukh made his first-team debut with Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv on 8 August 2021 in a 1–1 draw against Hapoel Jerusalem in the Israeli Toto Cup, which his side ultimately lost 7–6 on penalties.[14]

On 11 April 2022, he made his Israeli Premier League debut in a 1–1 draw against Maccabi Haifa, in which he also scored first goal for the club in the 28th minute.[15]

Red Bull Salzburg

On 27 January 2023, Gloukh was acquired by Austrian Bundesliga club Red Bull Salzburg for a fee of €7 million, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract.[16][17]

Gloukh (to the right) playing for Red Bull Salzburg in a 2024–25 UEFA Champions League match against Dynamo Kyiv

On 20 September 2023, Gloukh netted a goal in the 51st minute of his UEFA Champions League debut, helping secure a 2–0 away win over Benfica.[18] This made him the then-youngest Israeli footballer ever to score in the Champions League, at the age of 19.[19]

On 18 June 2025, Gloukh scored the opening goal in a 2–1 victory against Mexican side Pachuca on the first round of matches of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, becoming the first Israeli to play and score in the FIFA Club World Cup.[20]

Ajax

On 1 August 2025, Gloukh signed for Eredivisie club Ajax on a five-year contract running until 30 June 2030.[21][22] The disclosed financial details of the transfer include a base fee of €14.75 million, and a maximum of €2.5 million potential add-ons.[21][23] According to reports, his contract includes a €1.2 million annual salary net, plus €0.6 million in possible bonuses.[24] He chose the squad number 10 which was previously worn by club legends Dick van Dijk, Dennis Bergkamp, Jari Litmanen, Rafael van der Vaart, and Wesley Sneijder.[25] Ajax technical director Alex Kroes stated about the Israeli: "Oscar is an attacking midfielder who is both creative and talented, contributing goals and assists. He's also an intelligent player with excellent vision, and he is exceptionally eager to learn and ambitious. In our talks, he made it clear that Ajax was the ideal club for his development. His decision to choose Ajax’s sporting project over big money says everything about his character and mentality."[21][23] Before eventually choosing to join the Godenzonen, Gloukh was also targeted by Atlético Madrid, Porto, RB Leipzig, Roma, and VfB Stuttgart.[26][27][28][29][30]

"Ajax is a special club. Many legends have played for this club. [...] This club is really big. I've always been an Ajax fan since I was young. I dreamt to play in this stadium. It's like a dream for me. Dušan Tadić was one of my favourite players back then. Frenkie as well."

— Gloukh after his signing for Ajax[31]

International career

Youth

Gloukh has been capped for the Israel under-19 team, and took part in its qualification to the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship for the second time in its history. In the tournament, Gloukh scored 4 goals (making him the third-highest goalscorer) and made 2 assists, including a goal in the final match against England, a match which ended in a 3–1 defeat after extra time. Gloukh was named one of the tournament's best performers by ESPN,[32] and was named in UEFA's Team of the Tournament.[33] Gloukh's goal against England also earned him the UEFA 2022 Under-19 EURO Goal of the Tournament.[34]

Gloukh has also been part of the Israel under-21 team, making his first appearance on 2 June 2022,[35] and took part in its qualification to the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship for the third time in Israel's history.

Gloukh was selected in the squad to compete in the men's football tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics. He played all three of Israel's games as they were knocked out in the group stage.[36][37][38] He scored an equalizing goal in a 2–2 draw against Paraguay, thus becoming Israel's youngest goalscorer in Olympic history at 20 years and 3 months old.[39]

Senior

In November 2022, Gloukh received his first call-up to play for the senior Israel national team ahead of the home friendly matches against Zambia and Cyprus. On 17 November, he made his senior international debut, coming on as a substitute in a 4–2 victory over Zambia.[40] Three days later, Gloukh both started in the Israeli line-up against Cyprus, as well as scored his first senior international goal in a 3–2 defeat.[41]

Gloukh took part in Israel's qualification campaign for UEFA Euro 2024. In a match against Belarus on 16 June 2023, he came off the bench in the 57th minute and would go on to score a stoppage-time winning goal to give his side a 2–1 victory.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 September 2026[42][43]
More information Club, Season ...
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2021–22 Israeli Premier League 83201000—113
2022–23 Israeli Premier League 17422204[c]0—256
Total 257423040—369
Red Bull Salzburg 2022–23 Austrian Bundesliga 152——2[d]0—172
2023–24 Austrian Bundesliga 29750—6[e]2—409
2024–25 Austrian Bundesliga 261021—12[e]03[f]14312
2025–26 Austrian Bundesliga 0000—1[e]0—10
Total 701971—2123110123
Ajax 2025–26 Eredivisie 29610—8[e]300389
2026–27 Eredivisie 6100—5[g]4—115
Total 35710—137004914
Career total 13033123303893118646
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  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  3. Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
  4. Appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

As of match played 3 June 2026[44][42]
More information National team, Year ...
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Israel 202221
202392
202470
202591
202620
Total295
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Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first.

More information No., Date ...
List of international goals scored by Oscar Gloukh
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
120 November 2022HaMoshava Stadium, Petah Tikva, Israel Cyprus1–22–3Friendly
216 June 2023Szusza Ferenc Stadion, Budapest, Hungary Belarus2–12–1UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
39 September 2023Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania Romania1–11–1
45 September 2025Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova Moldova4–04–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification
53 June 2026Arena Kombëtare, Tirana, Albania Albania1–01–0Friendly
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Honours

Gloukh (crouching on the far left) celebrating the 2022–23 Austrian Bundesliga championship with Red Bull Salzburg

Red Bull Salzburg

Israel U19

Individual

See also

Notes

  1. Gloukh's name lacks an established Latin-alphabet spelling, and it has been romanized in various ways. Gloukh is the most common transliteration, but Gloch[3] and Gluh[4] can also be used.

References

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