Joel Asoro

Summary

Joel Joshghene Asoro (born 27 April 1999) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Metz, and Sweden national football team.

Joel Asoro
Asoro in 2022
Personal information
Full name Joel Joshghene Asoro[1]
Date of birth (1999-04-27) 27 April 1999 (age 24)
Place of birth Stockholm, Sweden
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Winger[2][3]
Team information
Current team
Metz
Number 99
Youth career
0000–2011 IFK Haninge
2011–2015 IF Brommapojkarna
2015–2016 Sunderland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Sunderland 27 (3)
2018–2021 Swansea City 14 (0)
2019–2020FC Groningen (loan) 15 (3)
2020–2021Genoa (loan) 0 (0)
2021–2023 Djurgårdens IF 71 (12)
2023– Metz 14 (2)
International career
2014–2016 Sweden U17 21 (14)
2016–2019 Sweden U21 17 (3)
2023– Sweden 2 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:20, 21 December 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:45, 13 January 2023 (UTC)

Club career edit

Early career edit

Asoro started his career in his local club IFK Haninge in a southern Stockholm suburb. When he was eleven years old he moved to IF Brommapojkarna, well known throughout Sweden for its youth academy which has produced players such as John Guidetti, Albin Ekdal, Simon Tibbling, Dejan Kulusevski and Ludwig Augustinsson. Asoro was targeted for some of Europe's leading clubs, among them Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Juventus.[4]

Sunderland edit

Asoro signed for English side Sunderland in 2015.[5] On 21 August 2016, a year after joining the club, Asoro made his professional debut in the Premier League against Middlesbrough, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute for Duncan Watmore;[6] in doing so he became Sunderland's youngest Premier League player, as well as the youngest Swedish national to feature.[7] On 24 August 2016, Asoro was given his first Sunderland start under manager David Moyes in a 1–0 victory over League One side Shrewsbury Town in an EFL Cup second round tie. Asoro later appeared as a starter in the EFL Cup Round 3 victory over Championship side Queens Park Rangers and was subbed off for Josh Maja.[8] On 18 January 2017, Asoro came off the substitutes bench to feature in a 2–0 FA Cup 4th Round Replay defeat to Burnley. Asoro scored his first Sunderland goal in a 1-0 victory over Hull City on 20th January 2018.

Swansea City edit

Asoro joined Swansea City on a four-year contract for a fee of £2 million in July 2018.[9]

Loan to FC Groningen edit

On 15 August 2019, Asoro agreed to a loan move to Eredivisie club FC Groningen for the 2019–20 season.[10] He made 17 appearances and scored three goals for the side before the football season in the Netherlands was suspended in March.

Loan to Genoa edit

On 16 September 2020, Asoro joined Serie A club Genoa on a season-long loan deal with a conditional obligation to buy.[11]

Djurgårdens IF edit

On 8 February 2021, Asoro signed with Allsvenskan club Djurgårdens IF, keeping him with the club until 31 December 2024.[12]

Metz edit

On 25 August 2023, Asoro joined Ligue 1 club Metz on a four-year contract, keeping him with the club until June 2027.[13] On 16th September, Asoro scored his first goal with the Lorraine club, the only one in a 0-1 away win over RC Lens.

International career edit

On 5 September 2016, Asoro made his debut for Sweden U21 starting the game against Spain in 1–1 draw.[14] He made his full international debut for Sweden on 9 January 2023, replacing Christoffer Nyman 82 minutes into a friendly 2–0 win against Finland in which he also scored his first international goal.[15]

Personal life edit

Asoro's parents are from Nigeria.[16] His sister, Abigail Glomazic is a professional basketball player who has played with the likes of CCC Polkowice and Sleza Wroclaw in Poland.

Career statistics edit

Club edit

As of match played 20 December 2023[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Domestic Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sunderland 2016–17 Premier League 1 0 1 0 2 0 4 0
2017–18 Championship 26 3 1 0 2 0 29 3
Total 27 3 2 0 4 0 0 0 33 3
Swansea City 2018–19 Championship 14 0 2 0 1 0 17 0
2020–21 Championship 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Total 14 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 18 0
Groningen 2019–20 Eredivisie 15 3 2 0 17 3
Genoa 2020–21 Serie A 0 0 0 0 0 0
Djurgården 2021 Allsvenskan 26 3 2 0 0 0 26 3
2022 Allsvenskan 29 6 2 0 0 0 12 7 43 13
2023 Allsvenskan 16 3 5 1 0 0 4 1 25 5
Total 71 12 7 1 0 0 16 8 94 21
Metz 2023–24 Ligue 1 14 2 0 0 0 0 14 2
Career total 141 20 15 1 6 0 16 8 178 29

International edit

Appearances and goals by national team and year[14]
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 2023 2 1
Total 2 1
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Asoro goal.
List of international goals scored by Joel Asoro
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 9 January 2023 Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé, Portugal   Finland 1–0 2–0 Friendly [18]

References edit

  1. ^ "English Championship Retained List 2015/16" (PDF). Premier League. 10 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Joel Asoro". Sunderland A.F.C. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Joel Asoro". UEFA. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  4. ^ "UEFA.com's weekly wonderkid: Joel Asoro". Uefa.com. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  5. ^ "Sunderland Sign 'One Of Sweden's Greatest Talents". Roker Report. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Sunderland vs. Middlesbrough". Soccerway.
  7. ^ "Arsenal scout Joel Asoro, so who is he and why would Arsenal want him?". Soccerway.
  8. ^ "Sunderland 1–0 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Swansea City complete signing of Sunderland winger Joel Asoro". BBC Sport. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Joel Asoro makes Groningen loan move". Swansea City A.F.C. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Joel Asoro: Swansea City winger joins Genoa on season-long loan". BBC Sport. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Joel Asoro klar för Djurgården" [Joel Asoro ready for Djurgården]. Djurgården Fotboll (in Swedish). 8 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Joel Asoro signe à Metz jusqu'en 2027 (officiel)". L'Équipe.
  14. ^ a b "Joel Asoro - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Sverige - Finland - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  16. ^ Emmanuel, Ifeanyi. "Sunderland Prodigy Joel Asoro Prefers To Represent Nigeria Ahead Of Sweden:: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". All Nigeria soccer. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  17. ^ Joel Asoro at Soccerway
  18. ^ "Sverige - Finland - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 January 2023.