| Henry Onyekuru | |
| Fullname: | Henry Chukwuemeka Onyekuru[1] |
| Birth Date: | 5 June 1997 |
| Birth Place: | Lagos, Nigeria |
| Height: | 1.75 m |
| Position: | Winger |
| Currentclub: | Al-Fayha |
| Clubnumber: | 7 |
| Youthyears1: | 2010–2015 |
| Youthclubs1: | Aspire Academy |
| Years1: | 2015–2017 |
| Clubs1: | Eupen |
| Caps1: | 57 |
| Goals1: | 28 |
| Years2: | 2017–2019 |
| Clubs2: | Everton |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs3: | → Anderlecht (loan) |
| Caps3: | 19 |
| Goals3: | 9 |
| Years4: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs4: | → Galatasaray (loan) |
| Caps4: | 31 |
| Goals4: | 14 |
| Years5: | 2019–2021 |
| Clubs5: | Monaco |
| Caps5: | 8 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2020 |
| Clubs6: | → Galatasaray (loan) |
| Caps6: | 10 |
| Goals6: | 1 |
| Years7: | 2021 |
| Clubs7: | → Galatasaray (loan) |
| Caps7: | 14 |
| Goals7: | 5 |
| Years8: | 2021–2023 |
| Clubs8: | Olympiacos |
| Caps8: | 14 |
| Goals8: | 0 |
| Years9: | 2022–2023 |
| Clubs9: | → Adana Demirspor (loan) |
| Caps9: | 28 |
| Goals9: | 8 |
| Years10: | 2023 |
| Clubs10: | Adana Demirspor |
| Caps10: | 0 |
| Goals10: | 0 |
| Years11: | 2023– |
| Clubs11: | Al-Fayha |
| Caps11: | 24 |
| Goals11: | 10 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2017–2022 |
| Nationalteam1: | Nigeria |
| Nationalcaps1: | 15 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Club-Update: | 15 March 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 19 January 2022 |
Henry Chukwuemeka Onyekuru (born 5 June 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Saudi Pro League club Al-Fayha, and the Nigeria national team.[2]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
On 2 August 2021, Olympiacos announced the signing of Onyekuru for a four-year deal for an undisclosed amount.[24]
On 11 August 2023, Onyekuru joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Fayha on a two-year contract.[25]
Onyekuru was called up for the Super Eagles camp in May 2017.[26] He made his senior debut for Nigeria in a 3–0 friendly win over Togo on 1 June 2017.[27]
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.[28] [29] 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.[30] [31]
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.[32] [33]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | 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 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 10 | |
| Galatasaray (loan) | 2018–19 | Süper Lig | 31 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 16 | |
| Monaco | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |||
| Galatasaray (loan) | 2019–20 | Süper Lig | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 5 | |||||
| Total | 24 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 6 | |||||
| Olympiacos | 2021–22 | Super League Greece | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 1 | — | 27 | 1 | ||
| Adana Demirspor (loan) | 2022–23 | Süper Lig | 18 | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 8 | |||
| Al-Fayha | 2023–24 | Saudi Pro League | 24 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 31 | 11 | ||
| Career total | 195 | 75 | 20 | 5 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 245 | 82 | |||
| 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 | ||
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Onyekuru goal.
Anderlecht
Galatasaray
Olympiacos