| Mathew Cudjoe | |
| Fullname: | Mathew Anim Cudjoe |
| Birth Date: | 11 November 2003 |
| Birth Place: | Prestea, Ghana |
| Height: | 1.68 m |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Bnei Sakhnin |
| Clubnumber: | 11 |
| Youthyears2: | 2018–2019 |
| Youthclubs1: | Great Somas |
| Youthclubs2: | Young Apostles |
| Years1: | 2019–2021 |
| Clubs1: | Young Apostles |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs2: | → Asante Kotoko (loan) |
| Caps2: | 6 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Years3: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs3: | → Legon Cities (loan) |
| Caps3: | 12 |
| Goals3: | 2 |
| Years4: | 2021–2024 |
| Clubs4: | Dundee United |
| Caps4: | 36 |
| Goals4: | 4 |
| Years5: | 2024– |
| Clubs5: | Bnei Sakhnin |
| Caps5: | 0 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2019– |
| Nationalteam1: | Ghana U20 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 6 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 1 June 2024 (UTC) |
Mathew Anim Cudjoe (born 11 November 2003) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bnei Sakhnin and the Ghana national under-20 football team.
Cudjoe began his career with Ghana Division Two team Young Apostles. He went on to play for Ghana Premier League sides Asante Kotoko and Legon Cities.[1] He most recently played for Dundee United.
Cudjoe started his career with Great Somas in Accra till he transferred to Sunyani based a Division Two club Young Apostles, managed by Ghanaian football administrator Samuel Anim Addo.[2] [3] Samuel Anim Addo is also Cudjoe's manager and football agent, he happens to be the Manager of Ghanaian Striker Asamoah Gyan as well.[4] Cudjoe was scouted and later signed up by Addo after he had competed in the maiden edition of the BabyJet U-16 tournament at the Asamoah Gyan Sports Complex in Accra Academy. He scored 6 goals at the end of the tournament, scoring a hattrick in one of the matches, to help his team win the tournament.[5] He also ended the tournament as the top goalscorer and was crowned the overall best player.[6] [7] Cudjoe made his first team debut for Dundee United in a 1/1 draw with Hibernian on April 2, 2022 when he came on as a sub and immediately made an impression [8]
Cudjoe signed by Asante Kotoko in December 2019 on a season-long deal.[9] On 22 December 2019, he won his first trophy with the club, after Asante Kotoko defeated their rivals Hearts of Oak by 2–1 victory in the President's Cup.[10] [11] He made his professional league debut in the Ghana Premier League on 1 January 2020 at the age of 16 years in a match against Legon Cities FC, coming on as a substitute in the 84th minute replacing Emmanuel Gyamfi.[12] In a match against rivals Hearts of Oak on 24 January 2020, Cudjoe was brought on as a substitute with the match in a 1–1 draw stance, when he was brought on, he was fouled in the penalty box which drew a penalty that was scored by Naby Keita in the 90th minute to help the team win 2-1 as the end of the match.[13] [14] [15] He scored his debut Ghana Premier League goal in a home match against Ebusua Dwarfs, helping Asante Kotoko to secure a 2–0 victory.[16] [17] He played 6 matches and scored 1 goal as the 2019–2020 season came to an abrupt end due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] [19] [13] After his loan deal ended Asante Kotoko tried to sign him on a long-term deal but the deal fell through and no agreement was made.[20] [21] [22] He became a fan favourite during his time at the club.[23] [24]
Cudjoe was signed on season long loan deal by Accra-based team, Legon Cities FC.[25] [26] He was signed as part of the signing deal of Asamoah Gyan.[27] [28] He was not unveiled as part of the team's new players unveiling session but was later unveiled on his 17th Birthday on 11 November 2020 via the club's social media handles.[29] [30]
On 17 November 2021, Scottish Premiership team Dundee United announced the signing of Cudjoe subject to international clearance, upon approval of his Visa application.[31] Cudjoe made his first team debut for Dundee United in a 1-1 draw with Hibernian on 2 April 2022 when he came on as a substitute. Cudjoe made his first start on 9 May in a league game against Rangers.[32] He scored his first his first competitive goal for Dundee United in a 4-0 victory in Arbroath on the 4th of August 2023. Despite some promising performances, he failed to agree a new deal with the Scottish club and left in the summer of 2024.
Cudjoe was a member of the Ghana national under-20 football team at the 2019 African Games.[33] [34] He started in the final match of the group stage against Mali as Ghana lost by 4-2 and were eliminated from the competition.[35] [36] He was also a member of the Black Satellites at the WAFU B U-20 Championship in 2020. He played in all matches at the tournament helping the team to finish as champions of West Africa Zone B and qualify for the 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations.[37] [38] [39]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Asante Kotoko | 2019–20 | Ghana Premier League | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 1 | |||
| Legon Cities | 2020–21 | Ghana Premier League | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 2 | |||
| Dundee United | 2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Scottish Championship | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | 1 | 25 | 5 | |||
| Total | 36 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 43 | 5 | |||
| Bnei Sakhnin | 2024–25 | Israeli Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 54 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 61 | 8 | |||
Dundee United
Asante Kotoko
2019[11]
Ghana U20