Najeeb Yakubu

Najeeb Yakubu
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-05-01) 1 May 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Right back
Team information
Current team
 Prishtina
Number 55
Youth career
UniStar Academy
–2017 New Town Youth
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018 Niger Tornadoes ? (?)
2018–2024 Vorskla Poltava 66 (2)
2022–2023 → Ilves (loan) 17 (0)
2024– Prishtina 11 (0)
International career‡
2017 Ghana U17 9 (0)
2022– Niger 9 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 January 2025
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 June 2024

Najeeb Yakubu (born 1 May 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a right back for Kosovo Superleague side Prishtina. Born in Ghana, he plays for the Niger national team.

Club career

On 20 April 2022, Yakubu joined CD Lugo in Spain under the special FIFA regulations related to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, he only participated in training and did not appear in any league games.[1][2]

In August 2022 he once again suspended his contract with Vorskla under the same regulations, this time until 30 June 2023, and moved to Ilves in Finnish Veikkausliiga.[3][4]

International career

Born in Ghana, Yakubu is of Nigerien descent.

He has expressed interest in playing for the Ukraine national team.[5]

He was called up to the Niger national team for a set of friendlies in March 2022.[6] He debuted with Niger as a late substitute in a 3–0 friendly loss to Egypt on 23 September 2022.[7]

Career statistics

Club

As of 27 November 2024[8][9]
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Vorskla Poltava 2018–19 Ukrainian Premier League 5 1 1 0 2[b] 0 – 6 1
2019–20 Ukrainian Premier League 13 1 2 0 – – 15 1
2020–21 Ukrainian Premier League 19 0 2 0 – – 21 0
2021–22 Ukrainian Premier League 16 0 1 0 2[c] 0 – 19 0
2022–23 Ukrainian Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0
2023–24 Ukrainian Premier League 13 0 2 0 – – 15 0
Total 66 2 8 0 4 0 0 0 78 2
Ilves (loan) 2022 Veikkausliiga 8 0 – – – 8 0
2023 Veikkausliiga 9 0 1 0 – 1[d] 0 11 0
Total 17 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 19 0
Prishtina 2024–25 Kosovo Superleague 9 0 0 0 – – 9 0
Career total 92 2 9 0 4 0 1 0 106 2
Notes
  1. ^ Includes Ukrainian Cup and Suomen Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ^ Includes Finnish League Cup

References

  1. ^ "FIFA adopts temporary employment and registration rules to address several issues in relation to war in Ukraine". FIFA. 7 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Najeeb Yakubu se incorpora a la dinámica de trabajo del primer equipo" (Press release) (in Spanish). CD Lugo. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Колись хотів грати за збірну України: лідер "Ворскли" пішов з команди". sportyvka.com.ua. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  4. ^ "MONIPUOLINEN NAJEEB YAKUBU KELTAVIHREISIIN – "MINULLA ON KOKEMUSTA EUROPELEISTÄ"" (in Finnish). Ilves. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Ukraine National Team Eyeing Najeeb Yakubu | Sports Corna". sportscorna.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021.
  6. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Former Ghana U17 defender Najeeb Yakubu gets Niger national team invitation". GhanaSoccernet. 17 March 2022.
  7. ^ "%competition_name% (Sky Sports)". Sky Sports.
  8. ^ Najeeb Yakubu at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  9. ^ Najeeb Yakubu, Global Sports Archive