Afeez Aremu

Afeez Aremu
Personal information
Full name Afeez Aremu Olalekan
Date of birth (1999-10-03) 3 October 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Ibadan, Nigeria
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 1. FC Kaiserslautern
Number 23
Youth career
2013–2014 Remo Stars
2014–2015 Sharks
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 Sunshine Stars 15 (2)
2016 Rivers United 13 (1)
2017–2018 Akwa United 9 (0)
2018–2020 IK Start 55 (4)
2020–2023 FC St. Pauli 54 (0)
2023– 1. FC Kaiserslautern 5 (0)
International career‡
2014–2015 Nigeria U20[1]
2017 Nigeria 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 09:42, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

Afeez Aremu Olalekan (born 3 October 1999) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Kaiserslautern.[2][3] He has also played for the Nigeria national under-20 team.[4]

Career

Aremu was born in Ibadan, Nigeria. He made his league debut with Remo Stars F.C.[4] at the age of 14 in 2013–14 Nigeria National Pro League season during their terrain in the Nigerian Second Division League. He has played for several Nigeria Premier League teams, such as Sharks F.C. from where he played against Sunshine Stars F.C. and this made Sunshine Stars sign him.[5] He got stronger interest from Rivers United F.C.[6] after he played against them during the first leg of 2015–16 Nigeria Premier League season and was signed during the mid season. He won the man of the match again towards two games to the end of 2015–16 Nigeria Premier League season when Rivers United played against Akwa United F.C. and this also made Akwa United sign him in the 2017 Nigeria Premier League season.[7]

In August 2020, Aremu joined 2. Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli from Eliteserien club IK Start on a three-year contract. The transfer fee paid to IK Start was undisclosed.[8]

Having featured less since the arrival of manager Fabian Hürzeler, Aremu moved to league rivals 1. FC Kaiserslautern in August 2023.[9] The transfer was reported as being in the mid-six-figure range.[9]

Personal life

Aremu has Yoruba tribal marks on his face, he had them since he was a baby.[10]

Career statistics

As of match played 24 August 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Division League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sunshine Stars 2015 NPFL 15 2 0 0 15 2
Rivers United 2016 NPFL 13 1 0 0 13 1
Akwa United 2017 NPFL 9 0 0 0 9 0
Start 2018[11] Eliteserien 26 3 4 1 30 4
2019[11] OBOS-ligaen 25 1 1 0 26 1
2020[11] Eliteserien 4 0 0 0 4 0
Total 55 4 5 1 60 5
FC St. Pauli 2020–21[12] 2. Bundesliga 16 0 1 0 17 0
2021–22[12] 2. Bundesliga 21 0 3 0 24 0
2022–23[12] 2. Bundesliga 17 0 1 0 18 0
Total 54 0 5 0 59 0
Career total 146 7 10 1 156 8

References

  1. ^ "Victor Mbaoma Get Flying Eagles Call Up As Team Resumes Camping Today". sl10.ng. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  2. ^ "NPFL Transfer: Sunshine lose Afeez Aremu to Akwa". sportstalkafrica.com. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  3. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: I can't wait to put one past Rivers United – Aremu Afeez". sportlineng.com. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  4. ^ a b "12 uninvited players progress in Flying Eagles trial". Premium Times Nigeria. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  5. ^ "www.supportthenpfl.com/news/aremu-afeez-delighted-sunshine-stars-move/". supportthenpfl.com. Retrieved 4 March 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Afeez praises Rivers Utd's mentality". The Nation Nigeria. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Sunshine Stars' Afeez Aremu looking to arrest poor form against Ifeanyi Ubah FC". Goal.com. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  8. ^ "FC St. Pauli verpflichtet Afeez Aremu". kicker (in German). 24 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Aremu wechselt nach Kaiserslautern" [Aremu moves to Kaiserslautern]. kicker (in German). 23 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  10. ^ "AREMU: "I THOUGHT, WOW, THIS IS GREAT!". FC St Pauli. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  11. ^ a b c "Afeez Aremu". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). TV2. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  12. ^ a b c "Afeez Aremu » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 30 December 2021.