Bobby Adekanye

Bobby Adekanye
Adekanye with Go Ahead Eagles in 2023
Personal information
Full name Omobolaji Habeeb Adekanye[1]
Date of birth (1999-02-14) 14 February 1999
Place of birth Ibadan, Nigeria[2]
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Lion City Sailors
Number 30
Youth career
Alphia
Ajax
2011–2014 Barcelona
2014–2015 PSV Eindhoven
2015–2019 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2022 Lazio 11 (1)
2020–2021 → Cádiz (loan) 3 (0)
2021 → ADO Den Haag (loan) 14 (2)
2022 → Crotone (loan) 4 (0)
2022–2025 Go Ahead Eagles 72 (7)
2025 Amedspor 17 (0)
2025–2026 Manisa 25 (5)
2026– Lion City Sailors 0 (0)
International career‡
2015 Netherlands U16 8 (0)
2015 Netherlands U17 3 (1)
2019 Netherlands U20 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 6 May 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 22 September 2019

Omobolaji Habeeb "Bobby" Adekanyelistenⓘ(born 14 February 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors.[3] Born in Nigeria, Adekanye represents the Netherlands internationally.

Club career

Barcelona scandal

Adekanye signed for Liverpool from FC Barcelona in 2015, having previously been at AFC Ajax. Adekanye was forced to leave Barcelona when they were found to have broken FIFA's rules on signing underage players. Adekanye was one of six youth players barred from playing again for Barcelona by FIFA.[4] Barcelona were also given a one-year transfer ban and fined £306,000.[4]

Racism scandal

Spartak Moscow were charged by UEFA over alleged racist behaviour by their supporters towards Adekanye during a UEFA Youth League match against Liverpool.[5] Despite being found guilty, in the next match they played Liverpool again had to report Spartak Moscow fans for racist chants towards another of their players, Rhian Brewster.[6]

Lazio

Adekanye moved to Italian club Lazio on 3 July 2019.[7] Adekanye made his debut for Lazio on 19 September 2019 in the UEFA Europa League against CFR Cluj.[8] He made his Serie A debut on 29 September 2019 against Genoa. On 28 November 2019, he played for the first time as a starter in the Europa League against Cluj.[9]

Loan to Cádiz

On 5 October 2020, Adekanye joined La Liga side Cádiz CF on loan for the 2020–21 season.[10] The deal, however, was called off midway through the season, with Adekanye having made five appearances for the Spanish side.[11]

Loan to ADO Den Haag

On 28 January 2021, Adekanye moved to Eredivisie club ADO Den Haag on a loan deal until the end of the season.[12]

Loan to Crotone

On 30 January 2022, Adekanye was loaned to Crotone in Serie B until the end of the season.[13]

Go Ahead Eagles

On 21 June 2022, Adekanye joined Go Ahead Eagles on a two-year contract.[14]

Amedspor

On 9 January 2025, it was confirmed that Adekanye had joined Turkish TFF 1. Lig club Amedspor.[15]

Manisa

On 19 July 2025, following the expiry of his contract with Amed, Adekanye joined Manisa F.K. on a free transfer.[16][17]

Lion City Sailors

On 7 August 2026, Adekanye moved to Asia for the first time by joining reigning Singapore Premier League champions Lion City Sailors.[3]

International career

Although born in Nigeria, Adekanye has represented the Netherlands at international youth levels having moved there at the age of 4.[18]

Career statistics

As of match played 10 May 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lazio 2019–20 Serie A 111103[a]0—151
2020–21 Serie A 000000—00
Total 111103000151
Cádiz (loan) 2020–21 La Liga 3020——50
ADO Den Haag (loan) 2020–21 Eredivisie 142———142
Crotone (loan) 2021–22 Serie B 40———40
Go Ahead Eagles 2022–23 Eredivisie 31620——336
2023–24 Eredivisie 28020—2[b]0320
2024–25 Eredivisie 131102[c]0—161
Total 727502020817
Amedspor 2024–25 TFF 1. Lig 170———170
2025–26 Süper Lig 0000——00
Total 17000——170
Career total 1211080502013610
  1. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ↑ Appearances in European play-offs
  3. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Conference League

Honours

Lazio

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "2018/19 Premier League squads confirmed". www.premierleague.com.
  2. ↑ "Ibadan-born star quit Liverpool after rejecting 3 years deal - FCNaija". Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Lion City Sailors sign former Liverpool academy player Bobby Adekanye". The Straits Times. 7 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 Rumsby, Ben (2 April 2014). "Barcelona handed one-year transfer ban for breaking rules over international transfer of under-18s". The Telegraph.
  5. ↑ "Spartak Moscow charged over alleged racist abuse of Liverpool winger". The Independent. 4 October 2017.
  6. ↑ Hunter, Andy (6 December 2017). "Liverpool to report Spartak Moscow over alleged racial abuse of Rhian Brewster". The Guardian.
  7. ↑ Babalola, Oluwatomiwa (3 July 2019). "Lazio sign Nigerian star Bobby Adekanye from Liverpool on a long-term deal". Legit.ng.
  8. ↑ "CFR Cluj vs. Lazio - 19 September 2019 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com.
  9. ↑ "Correa trascina la Lazio, Cluj sconfitto 1-0: la qualificazione è ancora possibile". gazzetta.it (in Italian). 28 November 2019.
  10. ↑ "Adekanye, velocidad para el ataque" [Adekanye, speed for the attack] (in Spanish). Cádiz CF. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "El Cádiz pone fin a la cesión de Bobby Adekanye" [Cádiz puts an end to Bobby Adekanye's loan] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  12. ↑ Heyes, Apollo (28 January 2021). "Official: Lazio Forward Bobby Adekanye Has Joined Ado Den Haag on Loan". The Laziali. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  13. ↑ "Un altro innesto per l'attacco. Benvenuto Adekanye!" (Press release) (in Italian). Crotone. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  14. ↑ "BOBBY ADEKANYE: 'FANTASTISCH HOE 10.000 FANS GELUID MAKEN VOOR 20.000'" (in Dutch). Go Ahead Eagles. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  15. ↑ "Bobby Adekanye maakt overstap naar Amed S.K." [Bobby Adekanye makes move to Amed SK] (in Dutch). Go Ahead Eagles. 9 January 2025.
  16. ↑ "Manisa FK signs Bobby Adekanye". Spor37 (in Turkish). 16 July 2025. Archived from the original on 16 September 2025. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  17. ↑ "Adekanye's insistence on Manisa FK". Yeni Asır. 1 August 2025. Archived from the original on 13 August 2025. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  18. ↑ "Bobby Adekanye". Liverpool FC. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  19. ↑ "Nick Olij named Eredivisie Player of the Month for January". Eredivisie. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
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