Najeeb Yakubu (born 1 May 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a right back for Ukrainian Premier League side FC Vorskla Poltava. Born in Ghana, he plays for the Niger national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1 May 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Accra, Ghana | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Right back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Vorskla Poltava | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| UniStar Academy | |||
| –2017 | New Town Youth | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018 | Niger Tornadoes | ? | (?) |
| 2018– | Vorskla Poltava | 65 | (2) |
| 2022–2023 | → Ilves (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | Ghana U17 | 9 | (0) |
| 2022– | Niger | 4 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 March 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 April 2023 | |||
Club career edit
On 20 April 2022, Yakubu joined CD Lugo in Spain under the special FIFA regulations related to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, he only participated in training and did not appear in any league games.[1][2]
In August 2022 he once again suspended his contract with Vorskla under the same regulations, this time until 30 June 2023, and moved to Ilves in Finland.[3][4]
International career edit
Born in Ghana, Yakubu is of Nigerien descent.
He has expressed interest in playing for the Ukraine national team.[5]
He was called up to the Niger national team for a set of friendlies in March 2022.[6] He debuted with Niger as a late substitute in a 3–0 friendly loss to Egypt on 23 September 2022.[7]
Career statistics edit
Club edit
- As of 12 October 2021[8]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Vorskla Poltava | 2018–19 | Ukrainian Premier League | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 2019–20 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 46 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 46 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 2 | ||
- Notes
- ^ Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
External links edit
- Najeeb Yakubu at UAF and archived FFU page (in Ukrainian)
- Najeeb Yakubu at Soccerway
References edit
- ^ "FIFA adopts temporary employment and registration rules to address several issues in relation to war in Ukraine". FIFA. 7 March 2022.
- ^ "Najeeb Yakubu se incorpora a la dinámica de trabajo del primer equipo" (Press release) (in Spanish). CD Lugo. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Колись хотів грати за збірну України: лідер «Ворскли» пішов з команди". sportyvka.com.ua. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ "MONIPUOLINEN NAJEEB YAKUBU KELTAVIHREISIIN – "MINULLA ON KOKEMUSTA EUROPELEISTÄ"" (in Finnish). Ilves. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine National Team Eyeing Najeeb Yakubu | Sports Corna". sportscorna.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Former Ghana U17 defender Najeeb Yakubu gets Niger national team invitation". GhanaSoccernet. 17 March 2022.
- ^ "%competition_name% (Sky Sports)". Sky Sports.
- ^ Najeeb Yakubu at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 November 2018.