George Ilenikhena

George Ilenikhena
Personal information
Full name George Osrzehmen Ilenikhena[1]
Date of birth (2006-08-16) 16 August 2006 (age 18)
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Monaco
Number 21
Youth career
2009–2021 Antony FE
2021–2022 Amiens
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Amiens B 10 (6)
2022–2023 Amiens 17 (2)
2023–2024 Antwerp 37 (8)
2024– Monaco 16 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:08, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

George Osrzehmen Ilenikhena (born 16 August 2006) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Monaco.

Early life

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, George Ilenikhena arrived in France aged 3, growing up in Antony, Hauts-de-Seine.[2][3]

Club career

Having made his way through all of the youth levels of the amateur Antony Football Evolution, George Ilenikhena joined the professional club of Amiens that was just relegated to Ligue 2, for the 2021–22 season.[2][4]

During that season he scored a total of 24 goals for the under-17 national side,[2] also playing and scoring in the Coupe Gambardella.[5][6] This soon drew the attention of big clubs in France and Abroad during the summer 2022, while he was still just aged 15.[5][7][8]

Ilenikhena made his professional debut for the Amiens SC on 19 November 2022, during a 10–0 home Coupe de France win to the Aiglon du Lamentin. He came on as a substitute for Jérémy Gelin, as his side was already 8–0 up.[9][10][11]

Having fully moved from the youth teams to the National 3 reserve team,[12] Ilenikhena still kept on training regularly with the first team, even making his first assist in December 2022 during a friendly game against FUS Rabat.[13]

On 29 June 2023, Ilenikhena signed for Belgian Pro League champions, Royal Antwerp, on a four-year deal,[14] for a reported fee of €6 million.[15] On 11 October 2023, he was named by English newspaper The Guardian as one of the best players born in 2006 worldwide.[16] Later that year, on 13 December, he scored his first Champions League goal in the 92nd minute of stoppage time, securing a 3–2 victory against Barcelona to be his club's first ever win in the competition.[17]

On 25 July 2024, Ilenikhena signed for Ligue 1 Club, AS Monaco. Later that year, on 19 September, he scored his second Champions League goal in the 71st minute of second half, securing a 2–1 victory against Barcelona to be his club's first win in the competition.[18]

International career

George Ilenikhena first featured with France youth teams in the summer of 2021, as he was selected with the Under-16, along with the likes of Warren Zaïre-Emery.[8][19]

Style of play

Ilenikhena is a quick centre-forward,[8] Philippe Hinschberger, the coach of his debut with Amiens, describes him as a strong left-footed player, with an outstanding ability to attack the depth of the field.[13]

He mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappé as his two favorite players.[2]

Career statistics

As of match played 5 January 2025[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Amiens B 2022–23 Championnat National 3 10 6 – – – 10 6
Amiens 2022–23 Ligue 2 17 2 1 0 – – 18 2
Royal Antwerp 2023–24 Belgian Pro League 37 8 5 5 6[b] 1 1[c] 0 49 14
Monaco 2024–25 Ligue 1 16 1 1 1 5[b] 1 1[d] 0 23 3
Career total 80 17 7 6 11 2 2 0 100 25
  1. ^ Includes Coupe de France, Belgian Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
  4. ^ Appearance in Trophée des Champions

Honours

Royal Antwerp

References

  1. ^ "Player profile". Archived from the original on 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Youcef, Rafik (20 August 2022). "Turfu [4/14] - George Ilenikhena (Amiens SC) : " Je sais ce que je veux être dans le foot "". Onze Mondial (in French). Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  3. ^ "L'espoir du mois : George Ilenikhena, Mister George Junior". So Foot Club [fr]. No. 82. June 2022. p. 15.
  4. ^ "Georges Ilenikhena (Antony Football Evolution-2006) signe à l'Amiens SC…". Panamefoot (in French). 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  5. ^ a b Aouna, Santi (16 July 2022). "George Ilenikhena dans le viseur de cadors européens". Foot Mercato [fr] (in French). Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Coupe Gambardella: l'Amiens SC éliminé par l'AC Ajaccio en 8e de finale". Courrier picard (in French). 20 February 2022. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  7. ^ Bricout, Nathan (16 July 2022). "Les infos mercato en direct : Lewandowski au Barça, le PSG officialise Ekitike..." Onze Mondial (in French). Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Mercato OM : Longoria pisterait un phénomène de 15 ans". Le Phocéen [fr] (in French). 10 December 2021. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  9. ^ Chaumier, Morgan (20 November 2022). "Philippe Hinschberger : " J'ai aimé notre sérieux "". Gazette Sports (in French). Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  10. ^ Pechon, Romain (20 November 2022). "Amiens SC - Lamentin : les tops et flops". Le 11 HDF (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Amiens SC Football - Les Amiénois se sont vite mis à l'abri et éliminé facilement l'Aiglon du Lamentin". Amiens SC Football (in French). 19 November 2022. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Football (N3): l'Amiens SC (b) surprend Marcq-en-Barœul". Courrier picard (in French). 26 November 2022. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  13. ^ a b Pechon, Romain (16 December 2022). "Philippe Hinschberger (Amiens SC) : " On a un peu les boules "". Le 11 HDF (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  14. ^ "SPITS GEORGE ILENIKHENA TEKENT CONTRACT BIJ RAFC" [STRIKER GEORGE ILENIKHENA SIGNS CONTRACT WITH RAFC]. royalantwerpfc.be (in Dutch). 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  15. ^ Amosu, Adeboye (29 June 2023). "Done Deal: Belgian Champions Royal Antwerp Sign Nigerian Youngster". Complete Sports. Archived from the original on 26 December 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  16. ^ Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (11 October 2023). "Next Generation 2023: 60 of the best young talents in world football". theguardian.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Royal Antwerp 3-2 Barcelona: Late winner stuns Catalans in Champions League". BBC Sport. 13 December 2023. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  18. ^ Thomas, Marissa (19 September 2024). "Monaco 2-1 Barcelona: George Ilenikhena scores as 10-man Barca beaten in Champions League". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  19. ^ "Stage U16 : Rassemblement du 23.08.2021 au 26.08.2021" (PDF). FFF. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  20. ^ George Ilenikhena at Soccerway
  21. ^ "Antwerp wint nu ook de Supercup! KV Mechelen plooit pas na strafschoppen" (in Dutch). Sporza. 23 July 2023. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.