Bryant Bilongo

Bryant Bilongo
Personal information
Full name Bryant Akono Bilongo[1]
Date of birth (2001-09-15) 15 September 2001[1]
Place of birth Wandsworth, England[1]
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position Defender
Team information
Current team
 Rochdale
Number 27
Youth career
AFC Wimbledon
Hanworth Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2021 Hanworth Villa 10 (0)
2021–2022 Kingstonian 20 (1)
2022–2024 Middlesbrough 0 (0)
2022 → Woking (loan) 1 (0)
2024 → Ebbsfleet United (loan) 12 (1)
2024–2026 Bristol Rovers 23 (1)
2025 → Harrogate Town (loan) 16 (1)
2026– Rochdale 0 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10:44, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

Bryant Akono Bilongo (born 15 September 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League Two club Rochdale.

Club career

Released by AFC Wimbledon at a young age,[3] Bilongo went on to join Hanworth Villa youth side[4] before eventually making the step up into the first-team during the 2020–21 campaign, in which he featured ten times.[5]

Following his breakthrough season, Bilongo joined Isthmian League Premier Division side, Kingstonian in June 2021.[3] Impressing early on, his form attracted the attention of both Football League and Premier League sides, including Chelsea who subsequently trialled the full-back in October 2021.[6] Despite this, Bilongo agreed to join Middlesbrough three months later for an undisclosed fee.[7] On 10 August 2022, he made his first-team debut for Middlesbrough, replacing Paddy McNair during an EFL Cup first round tie defeat against Barnsley, with half an hour remaining.[8] On 29 October 2022, he joined National League side, Woking on a one-month loan.[9] Bilongo went onto feature twice for the Cards before returning to Middlesbrough in November.

On 1 February 2024, Bilongo joined National League club Ebbsfleet United on loan until the end of the season.[10]

Bristol Rovers

On 28 June 2024, Bilongo signed for League One side Bristol Rovers for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-year deal with the option for a further year.[11] He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the season, scoring a 92nd minute winner as Rovers defeated Northampton Town to claim a first opening day victory in thirteen years.[12] Following the match, he described it as the highlight of his career to date.[13]

On 15 January 2025, Bilongo joined League Two club Harrogate Town on loan for the remainder of the season.[14]

Rochdale

On 15 January 2026, Bilongo joined National League club Rochdale on an eighteen-month contract.[15]

Career statistics

As of 15 January 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Hanworth Villa 2020–21[5] Combined Counties League Premier Division 10000—00100
Kingstonian 2021–22[16] Isthmian League Premier Division 20130—4[a]0271
Middlesbrough 2021–22[1] Championship 00———00
2022–23[1] Championship 00—10—10
2023–24 Championship 000000—00
Total 000010—10
Woking (loan) 2022–23[1] National League 1010—0020
Ebbsfleet United (loan) 2023–24[1] National League 121——00121
Bristol Rovers 2024–25[17] League One 14110102[b]0181
2025–26[18] League Two 9020103[b]0150
Total 231302050331
Harrogate Town (loan) 2024–25[17] League Two 161000000161
Career total 8247030901014
  1. ↑ Appearances in the FA Trophy
  2. 1 2 Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "B. Akono Bilongo". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  2. ↑ https://www.whoscored.com/players/448584/show/bryant-bilongo
  3. 1 2 "Kingstonian sign Bryant Akono Bilongo". Kingstonian F.C. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  4. ↑ Taylor, Jim (21 November 2019). "HANWORTH VILLA'S FA YOUTH CUP RUN COMES TO AN END". Middlesex FA. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Bryant Akono-Bilongo Player Stats". The FA. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  6. ↑ Vegas, Paul (6 October 2021). "Chelsea ready to splash out on Kingstonian trialist Bryant Akono Bilongo". Tribal Football. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  7. ↑ "Bryant Akono Bilongo joins Middlesbrough". Kingstonian F.C. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  8. ↑ "Middlesbrough vs. Barnsley". Soccerway. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  9. ↑ O'Sullivan, Daniel (29 October 2022). "Clarke and Bilongo join on loan". Woking F.C. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "Bryant fits the bill for the Fleet". www.ebbsfleetunited.co.uk. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  11. ↑ "Bryant Bilongo joins Bristol Rovers". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  12. ↑ "Bristol Rovers 1–0 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 10 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  13. ↑ Hargraves, Daniel (12 August 2024). "'My best football day' - Bryant Bilongo on dream Bristol Rovers debut against Northampton Town". Bristol Post. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  14. ↑ "Bryant Bilongo signs on Loan". www.harrogatetownafc.com. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  15. ↑ "Bryant Bilongo Joins Dale". rochdaleafc.co.uk. 15 January 2026. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  16. ↑ "Kingstonian – Appearances – Bryant Akono Bilongo – 2021-2022". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Games played by Bryant Bilongo in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  18. ↑ "Games played by Bryant Bilongo in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.