Emmanuel Dennis

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Emmanuel Dennis
FC Salzburg vs. Club Brügge (Euroleague Sechzehntelfinale) 14 (cropped).jpg
Dennis with Club Brugge in 2019
Personal information
Full name Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis[1]
Date of birth (1997-11-15) 15 November 1997 (age 23)
Place of birth Yola, Nigeria
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Watford
Number 25
Youth career
2010–2016 Accademia di Abuja
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Zorya Luhansk 22 (6)
2017–2021 Club Brugge 85 (19)
2021 → 1. FC Köln (loan) 9 (0)
2021– Watford 2 (1)
National team‡
2019 Nigeria U23 1 (0)
2019– Nigeria 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:40, 21 August 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 October 2019

Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis (born 15 November 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Watford.

Club career[]

Early career[]

Dennis began his career at Accademia di Abuja, located in Abuja, Nigeria.[2]

Zorya Luhansk[]

In March 2016, Dennis signed with Ukrainian Premier League club Zorya Luhansk.[3] He made his debut in a game against Olimpik Donetsk on 24 July 2016, where he scored the opener in a 3–0 victory.[4]

Dennis started the season on the bench mostly before being given his UEFA Europa League debut to Feyenoord on 3 November, which ended 1–1. After impressing against Feyenoord, he also played in the Ukrainian side's other group stage games, to Fenerbahçe and Manchester United. Zorya lost 2–0 in both matches and were eliminated from the group having finished in last place.

On 11 December, Dennis scored his second goal in a 2–0 win over Stal Kamianske. His performances attracted both Manchester City as well as an unknown Bundesliga side, who were interested in signing him in the winter transfer window.[5][6] However, Dennis instead ended up staying with Zorya for the rest of the season, helping them to a third place in the league with his six goals in 22 league appearances.

Club Brugge[]

Club Brugge announced on 30 May 2017 that they had signed Dennis on a four-year-deal for a fee of €1.2 million.[7] He was given the number 42 jersey shirt. Dennis started the season extremely well, scoring five goals in six matches, including one on his debut on 26 July 2017 to İstanbul Başakşehir, a 3–3 draw and a brace three days later in the league over Lokeren, which finished in a 4–0 victory.

On 1 October 2019, Dennis scored twice in a 2–2 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium against Real Madrid in the group stage of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League season.[8][9][10]

1. FC Köln[]

On 25 January 2021, Bundesliga side 1. FC Köln announced that they had signed Dennis on a loan deal until the end of the season.[11] He made a total of nine league appearances during his time in Germany.

Watford[]

On 21 June 2021, Watford confirmed they had reached an agreement with Club Brugge for the transfer of Dennis.[12] A five-year contract was signed two days later.[13] On 14 August 2021, Dennis scored on his Watford debut in their league opener against Aston Villa, where Watford won 3–2.[14]

International career[]

Dennis represented Nigeria at under-23 level[2] before being called up to the senior team. He made his debut on 10 September 2019 in a 2–2 friendly draw to Ukraine, coming on as a 82nd-minute substitute for Samuel Chukwueze.[15]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of match played 21 August 2021[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Zorya Luhansk 2016–17 Ukrainian Premier League 22 6 1 0 — 3[b] 0 — 26 6
Club Brugge 2017–18 Belgian First Division A 30 7 4 4 — 4[c] 1 — 38 12
2018–19 26 7 1 0 — 5[d] 0 — 32 7
2019–20 20 5 2 0 — 11[e] 4 — 32 9
2020–21 9 0 0 0 — 4[f] 1 — 13 1
Total 85 19 7 4 — 24 6 — 116 29
FC Köln (loan) 2020–21 Bundesliga 9 0 1 1 — — — 10 1
Watford 2021–22 Premier League 2 1 0 0 0 0 — — 2 1
Total 118 26 9 5 0 0 27 6 — 154 37
  1. ^ Includes the Ukrainian Cup and the Belgian Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Two appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Ten appearances and three goals in UEFA Champions League, one appearance and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International[]

As of match played 13 October 2019[17]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Nigeria 2019 2 0
Total 2 0

Honours[]

Club Brugge

References[]

  1. ^ "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Emmanuel Dennis beckoning on Gernot Rohr". This Day. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  3. ^ Michael, Rasheed. "Little known Nigerian striker Dennis turning heads at top Ukrainian club". owngoalnigeria.com. OwnGoal Nigeria. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  4. ^ Ліга Парі-Матч. 1 тур. Матч № 6. 24 July 2016. fpl.ua (in Ukrainian). Ukrainian Premier League official website. 24 July 2016. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Exclusive: Manchester City scout watches "Nigerian Neymar" Dennis in Ukraine". owngoalnigeria.com. OwnGoal Nigeria. 11 September 2016. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Top Bundesliga club plot transfer of $1.5 million-rated Zorya starlet Bonaventure". allnigeriasoccer.com. All Nigeria Soccer.
  7. ^ "Club Brugge sign top Nigerian talent Dennis Bonaventure". soccerassembly.com. Soccer Assembly. Archived from the original on 3 June 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Casemiro spares Real Madrid's blushes against Club Brugge". BT Sport. Press Association. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  9. ^ Rouquet, Sylvain (1 October 2019). "Le FC Bruges frôle l'exploit et ramène un point du Real Madrid de Hazard et Courtois". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  10. ^ Battison, Paul (1 October 2019). "Emmanuel Dennis: Club Bruges striker trolls Real Madrid with Cristiano Ronaldo 'Siii' celebration". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Perfekt: Dennis verstärkt Köln bis zum Saisonende". kicker.de. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Official: Dennis Deal Done". Watford F.C. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Official: Dennis Personal Terms Agreed". Watford F.C. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  14. ^ Thomason, Ellie (14 August 2021). "Watford 3–2 Aston Villa". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Ukraine v Nigeria match report". ESPN. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  16. ^ E. Dennis (Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis) at Soccerway. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  17. ^ "Emmanuel Dennis profile". National Football Teams. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  18. ^ "Brugge secure Belgian league title with draw at Standard Liège". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. 13 May 2018. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  19. ^ "Dennis and Tau's Club Brugge declared Belgian champions". Goal. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2021.

External links[]

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