Jores Okore

Jores Okore
Okore playing for Aston Villa
Personal information
Full name Tetchi Jores Charlemagne
Ulrich Okore[1]
Date of birth (1992-08-11) 11 August 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 B.93
Number 4
Youth career
2000–2007 B.93
2007–2011 Nordsjælland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2013 Nordsjælland 65 (5)
2013–2016 Aston Villa 38 (1)
2016–2017 Copenhagen 5 (0)
2017–2020 AaB 104 (4)
2021–2023 Changchun Yatai 78 (3)
2024– B.93 5 (0)
International career‡
2011–2014 Denmark U21 7 (0)
2016 Denmark U23 1 (0)
2011–2014 Denmark 11 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 December 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 January 2023

Tetchi Jores Charlemagne Ulrich Okore (French pronunciation: [ʒɔ.ʁɛs ɔ.kɔ.ʁe]; Danish pronunciation: [ˈjoːɐs oˈkʰoːɐ]; born 11 August 1992), simply known as Jores Okore, is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for B.93. Born in Ivory Coast, he has represented the Denmark national team.

Okore is considered a capable and aggressive defender, who is known for his pace and strength.[3]

Early life

Okore was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He moved to Denmark with his family at the age of three and began to play football five years later with B.93 in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen.[4] He moved to Nordsjælland in 2007, captaining the club's youth sides.[5]

Club career

Nordsjælland

Having previously made a handful of appearances in Danish Cup games, including being part of the Nordsjælland Cup-winning team in 2010–11, Okore made his league debut against Horsens on 3 April 2011, coming on as a substitute for Michael Parkhurst.[6] Okore would continue to making first-team appearances in place of the injured Parkhurst for the remainder of the 2010–11 season, going on to make 11 league appearances and creating one assist.[3][7] Okore signed a new four-year contract with the Farum-based club in June 2011,[5] and was made an official member of the senior squad for the 2011–12 Superliga season by newly appointed head coach Kasper Hjulmand. [citation needed]

On 18 September 2011, Jores scored his first senior goal for Nordsjælland in a 2–0 league win over Brøndby. It was his only goal in that season.[8] In November 2011, he signed a new contract, extending his stay with the club to December 2016.[9] He was made vice-captain of Nordsjælland for the 2012–13 season. [citation needed]

Aston Villa

On 13 June 2013, Okore signed for English Premier League club Aston Villa on a four-year deal for a fee believed to be in the region of £4 million.[10] Nordsjælland confirmed via the club's official Twitter and Facebook accounts that he was their most expensive sale ever.[citation needed] He made his Premier League debut on 21 August 2013 at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, replacing the injured Ciaran Clark a few minutes before half-time.[11] Okore made his first Premier League start on 24 August in Villa's home game against Liverpool. On 16 September 2013, Villa announced that Okore will be sidelined for the 2013–14 season after suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee in a game against Newcastle United on 14 September; the injury required season-ending surgery.[12]

On 24 November 2014, Okore made his return to the Villa first team in a 1–1 draw against Southampton at Villa Park, 14 months after his injury. He scored his first goal for Villa in a 2–1 defeat to Chelsea at Villa Park, nodding in a cross from Carles Gil.[13] On 9 April 2016, Okore refused to take a position as a substitute on the bench for Villa's game against AFC Bournemouth. Subsequently he told caretaker manager, Eric Black that he did not want to be considered for any further games in the 2015–16 season. He was removed from the first-team squad and ordered to train with the under-21 side.[14]

FC Copenhagen

On 27 August 2016, it was confirmed, that Okore had signed a four-year contract with Danish Superliga-club FC Copenhagen.[15] He made his Superliga debut for the club on 18 November 2016, when he came on as a substitute in the 89th minute instead of Rasmus Falk in a 2–1 victory over AaB.[16] In his sole season at the club, Okore made five Superliga appearance, in which he played full time in three of the matches.[17]

AaB

On 6 July 2017, it was announced that Okore moved to AaB from Copenhagen for a reported fee of DKK 4.2 million.[18] He signed a three-year contract keeping him at the club until 30 June 2020.[19]

Changchun Yatai

Okore signed a three-year contract with recently promoted Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai on 25 February 2021, after having made 116 official appearances for AaB.[20] After the move, Okore stated: "As a club and as a city, AaB and Aalborg have more than matched my expectations, and I look back on a good time".[21] He made his debut as a starter for Changchun Yatai on 22 April 2021, the opening game of the Super League in a 2–1 win over Dalian Pro.[22][23] On 3 July 2022, he scored his first goal for Yatai in a 2-2 draw against Dalian Pro.

Return to B.93

On September 7, 2024, after Okore had trained with his former youth club, B.93 for a while, the club confirmed that the partners had reached an agreement. It is not known how long an agreement.[24]

International career

On 6 September 2011, Okore made his international youth debut for the Denmark under-21 team at the age of 19, participating in a UEFA Under-21 Championship Qualifier, winning 3–0 over Northern Ireland.

Okore playing for Denmark against Slovakia in 2012

Having made his debut two months earlier for the U21s, on 6 November 2011 Jores Okore was called up to the Danish senior team as a replacement for Simon Kjær, for a friendly against Sweden on 11 November 2011.[25] He made his senior debut in that match, coming on at the 62nd minute, replacing his club teammate Andreas Bjelland.[26] Okore was retained for the following international friendly against Finland, where he received his second cap and first start on 15 November 2011.

Okore was once again called up in December 2011 for Denmark's tour of Thailand in January.[27] On 24 May 2012, it was announced that Okore had been selected for Denmark's squad for UEFA Euro 2012 as well as the preceding friendly matches against Brazil and Australia.[28]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 November 2023[29]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Nordsjælland 2009–10 Danish Superliga 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 0
2010–11 Danish Superliga 11 0 3 0 0 0 — 14 0
2011–12 Danish Superliga 25 1 3 0 2 0 — 30 1
2012–13 Danish Superliga 29 4 0 0 5 0 — 34 4
Total 65 5 7 0 7 0 0 0 79 5
Aston Villa 2013–14 Premier League 3 0 1 0 — — 4 0
2014–15 Premier League 23 1 3 0 — — 26 1
2015–16 Premier League 12 0 2 0 — — 14 0
2016–17 Championship 0 0 1 0 — — 1 0
Total 36 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 43 1
Copenhagen 2016–17 Danish Superliga 5 0 2 0 1 0 — 8 0
AaB 2017–18 Danish Superliga 27 2 3 0 — — 30 2
2018–19 Danish Superliga 29 0 2 0 — 2 0 33 0
2019–20 Danish Superliga 35 1 3 0 — — 38 1
2020–21 Danish Superliga 13 1 2 1 — — 15 2
Total 104 4 10 1 0 0 2 0 116 5
Changchun Yatai 2021 Chinese Super League 22 0 0 0 — — 22 0
2022 Chinese Super League 29 1 0 0 — — 29 1
2023 Chinese Super League 27 2 0 0 — — 27 2
Total 78 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 78 3
Career total 288 13 28 1 8 0 2 0 324 14

Honours

Nordsjælland

Aston Villa

Copenhagen

AaB Danish Cup runner-up: 2019–20[33]

References

  1. ^ "Barclays Premier League Squad Numbers 2013/14". Premier League. 16 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  2. ^ "Barclays Premier League Player Profile". web page. Premier League. 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  3. ^ a b Larsen, Niels (8 April 2011). "Hvem f... er Jorés Okore?" (in Danish). Tipsbladet.dk. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  4. ^ Pedersen, Johnny Gudmand (15 November 2011). "FCNs Okore drømmer om Chelsea". Sporten.dk (in Danish). GoNews.dk. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  5. ^ a b Helmin, Jesper (9 June 2011). "Lang FCN contract for Okore" (in Danish). Bold.dk. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  6. ^ Blond, Mikael (4 April 2011). "Superliga-debutant: Var lidt surrealistisk" (in Danish). Bold.dk. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  7. ^ "FCN: Målscorere" (in Danish). FCN.dk (F.C. Nordsjælland). Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  8. ^ "Jores Okore". www.uefa.com. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  9. ^ Akbal, Ejder (4 November 2011). "Jores Okore forlænger med Nordsjælland" (in Danish). Bold.dk. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  10. ^ "Aston Villa sign Danish defender Jores Okore". itv.com. 13 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  11. ^ "Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 1: match report". The Telegraph. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  12. ^ "Jores Okore: Aston Villa defender injures cruciate ligament". BBC Sport. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  13. ^ "Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. BBC Sport. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Jores Okore refusing to play for Aston Villa - Eric Black". BBC Sport. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  15. ^ "Jores Okore skifter til F.C. København". fck.dk. FC Copenhagen. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  16. ^ "Superligakamp AaB-FC København, 18.11.2016". superstats.dk. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Jores Okore, statistik for Superligaen 2016/2017". superstats.dk. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  18. ^ Abolhosseini, Farzam; Wikkelsø Davidsen, Mikkel (6 July 2017). "Officielt: AaB køber Jores Okore - her er prisen". B.T. (in Danish). Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  19. ^ Andersen, Brian (6 July 2017). "Jores Okore er AaB-spiller". aabsport.dk (in Danish). AaB Fodbold. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  20. ^ Fallah, Daniel Nøjsen (25 February 2021). "Officielt: Jores Okore solgt til Kina". B.T. (in Danish). Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  21. ^ Andersen, Brian (25 February 2021). "Okore solgt til kinesisk klub". aabsport.dk (in Danish). AaB.
  22. ^ "Dalian Pro - Changchun Yatai 1:2 (Super League 2021, 1. Round)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  23. ^ Reeve, James (22 April 2021). "Changchun Yatai claim revenge over Dalian Professional in CSL return". Wild East Football.
  24. ^ Jores Okore vender hjem!…, facebook.com, 7 September 2024
  25. ^ Blond, Mikael (6 November 2011). "19-årig FCN-komet afløser Kjær" (in Danish). Bold.dk. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  26. ^ Houlind, Søren (11 October 2011). "Sommerfuglene ramte Okore" (in Danish). Bold.dk. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  27. ^ Helmin, Jesper (6 December 2011). "FCN-profiler jubler over udtagelse" (in Danish). Bold.dk. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  28. ^ Fink, Lars (24 May 2012). "Overraskelse: Okore skal til EM" (in Danish). TV2. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  29. ^ "Jores Okore". Soccerbase. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  30. ^ UEFA.com (22 May 2011). "Nordsjælland retain Danish Cup". UEFA.com. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  31. ^ "Arsenal 4–0 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  32. ^ DBU. "F.C. København - Brøndby". DBU (in Danish). Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  33. ^ "Danish Cup final delayed as fans sit together". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 January 2022.