Ogochukwu Frank Onyeka MON (born 1 January 1998) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Brentford and the Nigeria national team.[3]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ogochukwu Frank Onyeka[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 1 January 1998 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Benin City, Nigeria | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Brentford | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 15 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| –2013 | Faith Motors FC | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Ebedei | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Midtjylland | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2021 | Midtjylland | 95 | (14) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Brentford | 67 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020– | Nigeria | 25 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:44, 4 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 March 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Early life and career
Onyeka was born on 1 January 1998 in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, the second oldest of five siblings. He has stated that his mother was not supportive of him playing football early on: "She wanted us to study, because the opportunity of becoming a football player at that point was slim. She would rather I went to school than play football."[4]
Aged 15, while playing for local club Faith Motors Academy, he was noticed by Churchill Oliseh, owner and manager of FC Ebedei—a club with ties to Midtjylland in the Danish Superliga—and the man credited for discovering Nigerian international Obafemi Martins.[4] Before joining FC Ebedei, Onyeka supported his family by doing roofing work. His move to Ebedei, located in Sagamu, Ogun State, more than 250 kilometers from Benin City, was the first time he was away from home, and required significant adjustments. Despite the distance and his prior responsibilities, Onyeka remained committed to pursuing his dreams, something he later recognised as instrumental in developing a resilient mindset.[4]
Club career
Midtjylland
After moving from Nigerian club FC Ebedei to cooperation club FC Midtjylland in Denmark in January 2016,[5] Onyeka established himself as part of the club, and on 20 September 2017 he made his first-team debut in the Danish Cup in a 7–0 win over Greve Fodbold where he also scored.[6] Onyeka went on to make his Danish Superliga debut for the club a few months later in the club's 2017–18 campaign in a match against AC Horsens on 9 February 2018. There, he also scored, and was a key part in the 2–0 win.[6][7] Onyeka distinguished himself again in the next fixture, on 18 February, against the leading Superliga team from FC Copenhagen, where he scored his second league goal for the club at the right winger position as Midtjylland beat the capital side 3–1.[8] He was subsequently praised by head coach Jess Thorup for his positional versatility and maturity.[8]
Onyeka made his UEFA Champions League debut in the following season, in Midtjylland's qualifier against Astana FC on 24 July 2018.[9]
Brentford
Onyeka signed for newly promoted Premier League side Brentford on 20 July 2021 for an undisclosed fee.[10] He made his competitive debut for the club on 13 August, the first matchday of the season, starting in a 2–0 victory against Arsenal; the Bees' first ever Premier League win.[11]
During his first seasons at Brentford, he grappled with securing a regular spot in the first team, often sidelined by injuries, and primarily featuring as a substitute.[12] On 7 August 2023, he signed a new four-year contract, keeping him in west London until 2027.[13] He scored his first goal for the club on 13 April 2024, helping Brentford to a 2–0 league win over Sheffield United to claim their first win in 10 consecutive Premier League games.[14]
International career
Onyeka received his first call-up for the Nigeria national team on 22 September 2020 for the friendly matches against Algeria and Tunisia in Austria on 5 and 9 October 2020, respectively.[15][16] He made his debut for the national team in a friendly 1–0 loss to Algeria on 9 October 2020.[17] He scored his first goal for his country on 16 October 2023, in a 3–2 win over Mozambique.[18]
Onyeka was a part of the Nigerian team that emerged runners-up at the 2023 African Cup of Nations.[19] During the tournament, he started all seven of Nigeria's games.[20]
Personal life
Onyeka was born and bred in Benin City. He is nicknamed "The Tank".[21]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 4 May 2024
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Midtjylland | 2017–18[22] | Danish Superliga | 15 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 18 | 5 | ||
| 2018–19[23] | Danish Superliga | 21 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 5[c] | 0 | 29 | 4 | ||
| 2019–20[24] | Danish Superliga | 32 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 1 | 35 | 4 | ||
| 2020–21[25] | Danish Superliga | 27 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | 10[e] | 1 | 41 | 4 | ||
| Total | 95 | 14 | 11 | 1 | — | 17 | 2 | 123 | 17 | |||
| Brentford | 2021–22[26] | Premier League | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 24 | 0 | |
| 2022–23[27] | Premier League | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24[28] | Premier League | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 28 | 1 | ||
| Total | 67 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | 75 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 162 | 16 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 198 | 19 | ||
International
- As of match played 22 March 2024[29]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Onyeka goal.[29]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 October 2023 | Estádio Municipal de Portimão, Portimão, Portugal |  Mozambique | 2–1 | 3–2 | Friendly |
Honours
Midtjylland
Nigeria
- Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2023[31]
Orders
Member of the Order of the Niger[32]
References
External links
- Profile at the Brentford F.C. website
- Frank Onyeka at National-Football-Teams.com