Leke James

Leke James
Personal information
Full name Leke Samson James
Date of birth (1992-11-01) 1 November 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Kaduna, Nigeria
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2011 Bridge Boys 45 (39)
2012–2015 Aalesund 90 (37)
2016–2017 Beijing Enterprises Group 26 (13)
2018–2020 Molde 59 (33)
2021 Al Qadsiah 10 (2)
2021–2023 Sivasspor 26 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 June 2023

Leke Samson James (born 1 November 1992) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward.

Club career

Early career

He started out his career in his native homeland playing for Bridge Boys.

Aalesund

He transferred to Aalesund on 6 January 2012.[1]

An injury obtained during pre-season hindered his path into the first team and he did not get back into full training until the start of July. On 26 July 2012 he made his first appearance for Aalesund coming on as a substitute at the start of the second half of the game versus Tirana in Europe League scoring twice in Aalesund's 5–0 win. On 29 July 2012 he made his debut in Tippeligaen and also started his first match, against Stabæk.

Beijing Enterprises Group

Between 2016 and 2017 he played for Chinese club Beijing Enterprises Group in China League One.

Molde

On 30 April 2018, Molde FK announced the signing of James on a three-year contract.[2] He got his Molde debut on 26 July 2018 when he came on as a 67th minute substitute in Molde's 3–0 win against Laçi in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round. James scored Molde's third goal in the game. On 22 June 2019, James scored a perfect hat-trick in the first half in Molde's 4–0 away win against Strømsgodset.[3] He scored with his right foot, left foot and his head and completed his hat-trick in 13 minutes and 45 seconds. On 11 July 2019, James scored his second hat-trick for the club, his first in UEFA competitions, in Molde's 7–1 win over KR in the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round.[4] James scored a brace in Molde's 4–0 win against Strømsgodset on Aker Stadion.[5] He scored the third and fourth goal of the game that secured Molde their fourth league title, his first. James finished the 2019 season scoring 24 goals in 38 matches in all competitions.

Sivasspor

After a short spell in the Saudi Pro League, James joined Süper Lig club Sivasspor on a two-year on 14 July 2021.[6]

On 30 December 2021, James scored two goals in Sivasspor's 2–1 win over MKE Ankaragücü in the fifth round of the Turkish Cup.[7] Sivasspor would eventually defeat Kayserispor in the final to secure the club its first major honour.[8]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 6 June 2023[9][10]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aalesund 2012 Tippeligaen 12 4 0 0 3[b] 2 — 15 6
2013 26 10 2 3 — — 28 13
2014 23 10 3 1 — — 26 11
2015 29 13 3 2 — — 32 15
Total 90 37 8 6 3 2 — 101 45
Beijing Enterprises Group 2016 China League One 24 13 1 0 — — 25 13
2017 2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
Total 26 13 1 0 — — 27 13
Molde 2018 Eliteserien 9 3 0 0 5[b] 1 — 14 4
2019 28 17 2 3 8[b] 4 — 38 24
2020 22 13 – 9[c] 2 — 31 15
Total 59 33 2 3 23 7 — 83 43
Al Qadsiah 2020–21 Saudi Pro League 10 2 1 0 — — 11 2
Sivasspor 2021–22 Süper Lig 12 2 1 2 6[d] 2 — 19 6
2022–23 14 3 1 0 5[e] 1 1[f] 0 21 4
Total 26 5 2 2 11 3 1 0 40 10
Career total 211 90 14 11 36 12 1 0 262 113
  1. ^ Includes Norwegian Cup, Chinese FA Cup, King Cup, Turkish Cup
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Four appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  5. ^ Two appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League, three appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  6. ^ Appearance in Turkish Super Cup

Honours

Molde

Sivasspor

References

  1. ^ "Ny spiss klar for AaFK". smp.no (in Norwegian). A-pressen.
  2. ^ "LEKE JAMES ER MOLDE-SPILLER". moldefk.no (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Lekestue da Pedersen fikk marerittstart som Godset-sjef". eurosport.no (in Norwegian). Eurosport. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Molde 7-1 KR". www.soccerway.com. Soccerway. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Gabrielsen i gullsjokk: - Jeg gikk bare rundt og tenkte...faen, nå skjer det". vg.no (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Leke Samson James". TFF. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Sivasspor 2-1 MKE Ankaragücü". TFF. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Türkiye Kupası Sivassporun! (ÖZET) Kayserispor-Sivasspor maç..." Fanatik.
  9. ^ "Leke James". nifs.no (in Norwegian). A-pressen.
  10. ^ 莱克 at sodasoccer.com 2016-11-01 (in Chinese)