| Dennis Eckert | |
| Full Name: | Dennis-Yerai Eckert Ayensa[1] [2] |
| Birth Date: | 9 January 1997 |
| Birth Place: | Bonn, Germany |
| Height: | 1.82 m |
| Position: | Forward, winger |
| Currentclub: | Union SG |
| Clubnumber: | 9 |
| Youthyears1: | 2001–2007 |
| Youthclubs1: | Pulheimer SC |
| Youthyears2: | 2007–2011 |
| Youthclubs2: | 1. FC Köln |
| Youthyears3: | 2011–2013 |
| Youthclubs3: | Alemannia Aachen |
| Youthyears4: | 2013–2015 |
| Youthclubs4: | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| Years1: | 2015–2017 |
| Clubs1: | Borussia Mönchengladbach II |
| Caps1: | 4 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs2: | Celta B |
| Caps2: | 48 |
| Goals2: | 9 |
| Years3: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs3: | Celta |
| Caps3: | 9 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2019 |
| Clubs4: | → Excelsior (loan) |
| Caps4: | 12 |
| Goals4: | 2 |
| Years5: | 2019–2022 |
| Caps5: | 78 |
| Goals5: | 25 |
| Years6: | 2022– |
| Caps6: | 39 |
| Goals6: | 10 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2015 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 6 July 2024 |
Dennis-Yerai Eckert Ayensa (born 9 January 1997) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Union SG.[3]
After stints at Pulheimer SC, 1. FC Köln, and Alemannia Aachen, Eckert joined Borussia Mönchengladbach's youth setup in 2013 and made appearances in the UEFA Youth League.[4] He made his senior debut with the latter's reserve team on 5 September 2015 in a 2–2 Regionalliga home draw against SSVg Velbert.[5]
On 4 July 2017, Eckert joined Celta de Vigo and was initially assigned to the B-team in Segunda División B.[6] He made his first-team debut on 18 August of the following year, coming on as a late substitute for Maxi Gómez in a 1–1 La Liga home draw against RCD Espanyol.[7]
On 31 January 2019, Eckert joined Eredivisie side SBV Excelsior until June.[8] He scored the game-winning goal on 17 February in a 2–1 comeback win against FC Emmen for his first top-flight goal.[9]
On 2 September 2019, FC Ingolstadt announced the signing of Eckert.[10] He scored a goal and provided an assist in his debut for the club on 15 September 2019.[11] Eckert finished the season with 14 goals in 30 league matches, helping Ingolstadt reach the promotion play-offs.[12] Eckert helped Ingolstadt reach the promotion play-offs again the following season, leading Ingolstadt to the 2. Bundesliga.[13]
On 20 June 2022, Eckert signed for Belgian side Union SG ahead of their 2022–23 season after scoring 25 goals and providing 15 assists in 78 league matches for Ingolstadt.[14] [15] He scored his first goal for Union in a pre-season match against Feyenoord on 16 July 2022.[16] Eckert made his Belgian Pro League debut on 23 July 2022 in their opening match against Sint-Truiden.[17] He made his senior UEFA competition debut on 9 August 2022 in a 2022–23 UEFA Champions League qualification match against Scottish side Rangers.[18] [15] He scored his first league goal in his following match on 31 August 2022 against Royal Antwerp at the Bosuilstadion.[19]
The following season, Eckert scored the first goal of the league season in the opening match against Anderlecht on 28 July 2023.[20] He scored his first senior European competition goal on 24 August 2023 during the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League play-off match against Lugano.[21] Eckert scored the winning goal on 22 February 2024 against German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt to help lead Union to the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16.[22] He scored the winning goal again in the following match on 25 February 2024 during a league game against Standard Liège, keeping his team in first place in the regular season league table.[23] On 9 May 2024, Eckert won his first senior title when Union won the Belgian Cup.[24]
Eckert began the following 2024–25 season with a win against Club Brugge in the 2024 Belgian Super Cup on 20 July 2024, helping Union win their first Belgian Super Cup title.[25] He scored his first league goal of the season during their home opener on 2 August 2024 against Beerschot.[26]
Eckert has played for the Germany U19 national team.
Eckert was born and raised in Bonn to a Galician mother and a German father of Iranian descent, along with his brother Joel who played college soccer for Cape Breton University.[27] [28] [29] Iranian actress Anahita Dargahi is his aunt.[30] Eckert holds dual German and Spanish citizenship, and is fluent in German, English, and Spanish, while knowing minimal Persian.[31] [2]
Eckert is outfitted by American sportswear supplier Nike.[32] [33]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach II | 2015–16 | Regionalliga | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | Regionalliga | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| Celta B | 2017–18 | Segunda División B | 36 | 8 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 40 | 8 | |||
| 2018–19 | Segunda División B | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 48 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 52 | 9 | |||
| Celta | 2018–19 | La Liga | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Excelsior (loan) | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | ||
| FC Ingolstadt | 2019–20 | 3. Liga | 30 | 14 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 32 | 14 | ||
| 2020–21 | 3. Liga | 24 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | 26 | 10 | |||
| 2021–22 | 2. Bundesliga | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 78 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 83 | 26 | |||
| Union SG | 2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 15 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | 8 | 7 | |||
| Total | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 9 | |||
| Career total | 165 | 43 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 186 | 46 | |||
Union SG