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Semi Ajayi

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Semi Ajayi
Ajayi playing for Arsenal in 2012
Personal information
Full name Oluwasemilogo Adesewo Ibidapo Ajayi[1]
Date of birth (1993-11-09) 9 November 1993 (age 31)[2]
Place of birth Crayford, England
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 West Bromwich Albion
Number 6
Youth career
0000–2012 Charlton Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Charlton Athletic 0 (0)
2012 → Dartford (loan) 3 (1)
2013–2015 Arsenal 0 (0)
2015 → Cardiff City (loan) 0 (0)
2015–2017 Cardiff City 0 (0)
2015 → AFC Wimbledon (loan) 5 (0)
2015–2016 → Crewe Alexandra (loan) 13 (0)
2017 → Rotherham United (loan) 17 (1)
2017–2019 Rotherham United 81 (11)
2019– West Bromwich Albion 169 (12)
International career‡
2013 Nigeria U20 3 (0)
2018– Nigeria 39 (1)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Nigeria
Africa Cup of Nations
Runner-up 2023 Ivory Coast
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:13, 19 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:38, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

Oluwasemilogo Adesewo Ibidapo "Semi" Ajayi MON (born 9 November 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Born in England, he represents the Nigeria national team.[3]

Club career

[edit]

Charlton Athletic

[edit]

Born to Nigerian parents, Ajayi began his football career as a youth product of the Charlton Athletic academy. After progressing through the Charlton Athletic ranks, he was offered his first professional contract in January 2012.[4]

In November 2012, Ajayi joined Dartford on a short-term loan for twenty-eight days.[5] Shortly after, he made his Dartford debut, in a 4–0 win over Kingstonian in the FA Trophy[6] and then scored his first goal for the side, in a 3–2 loss against Tamworth.[7] Ajayi played 3 games and scored 1 goal before returning to his parent club in late December.[8]

After returning to Charlton Athletic, Ajayi played for the reserve side for the rest of the season and helped them win the Professional Development League 2.[9] Along the way, he was an unused substitute in the senior side for a game against Blackpool on 12 January 2013.[10]

Arsenal

[edit]

Shortly before he was due to make his debut for the Charlton first team, Ajayi caught the eye of Premier League team Arsenal. Ajayi joined the Arsenal Academy on a two-year deal after impressing as a trialist with the club in September 2013.[11]

Ajayi made his Arsenal U21 debut as a trialist against Blackburn Rovers on 30 August 2013, scoring with a header, in a 3–0 win.[12] Ajayi, who first figured for Arsenal's senior team in a friendly against Boreham Wood, made the Arsenal bench four times during the 2014–15 season. He was an unused substitute in games against Hull City, Stoke City and Newcastle in the Premier League, as well as in the home League Cup defeat by Southampton.[13]

Cardiff City

[edit]

On 25 March 2015, Ajayi joined Championship team Cardiff City on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season but did not feature for the first team.[14] At the end of the season, Ajayi joined Cardiff on a two-year permanent deal following the end of his contract at Arsenal[15]

In the 2014–15 season, Ajayi was given a number twenty-nine shirt for the new season.[16] However, Ajayi appeared twice as an unused substitute, both of them came in the League Cup campaign against AFC Wimbledon[17] and MK Dons.[18]

Loan spells

[edit]

On 29 September 2015, Ajayi joined League Two side AFC Wimbledon on a month loan deal.[19] He made his debut for the Dons on the same day in a 1–1 draw against Northampton Town.[20] After impressing in his first couple of games, he was keen to extend his loan spell at AFC Wimbledon for more first team opportunities.[21] However, after making five appearances for the side, Ajayi returned to his parent club at the end of the original loan period.[22]

On 26 November 2015, Ajayi joined League One side Crewe Alexandra on loan until 5 January 2016.[23] After his debut against Oldham Athletic two days later, Ajayi was named in the Football League Team of the Week which covers all three Football League divisions.[24] Following several more impressive displays for Crewe, his loan spell was extended to 27 February, the maximum 93-day term allowed under the emergency loan rule.[25] On 13 February 2016, with chances of further loan extension reported as slim,[26] he set up a goal for Brad Inman in a 1–1 draw against Walsall.[27] After making his last appearance against Chesterfield on 20 February 2016,[28] he returned to his parent club.[29]

Rotherham United

[edit]

On 30 January 2017, Ajayi signed a loan deal until the end of the 2016–17 season with fellow Championship strugglers Rotherham United.[30] The following day, he made his Rotherham United debut, starting and playing the whole game, in a 2–0 defeat against Nottingham Forest.[31] Several weeks later, on 14 February 2017, he scored his first Rotherham United goal, in a 3–2 defeat against Huddersfield Town.[32] Ajayi was a first team regular for the rest of the season and made seventeen appearances.[33] On 28 March 2017, Ajayi signed for the club on a permanent deal, to be completed on 1 July 2017.[34] He was part of the side which earned promotion to The Championship after beating Shrewsbury in the play-off final on 27 May 2018.[35]

On 12 April, he won the EFL Championship Player of the Month for March 2019.[36] At the club's end of season awards for the 2018/19 season, Ajayi won the Away Player Of The Season Award after scoring 8 goals in 49 games in all competitions,[37] and also the Goal of the Season for his long range strike against Leeds United in a 2–1 defeat on 26 January 2019.[38]

West Bromwich Albion

[edit]

On 20 July 2019, Ajayi signed for West Bromwich Albion for an undisclosed fee, agreeing a four-year contract with the club.[39][40] On 27 December 2020, Ajayi scored his first Premier League goal for Albion in a 1–1 away draw against champions Liverpool.[41]

International career

[edit]

At the end of May 2013, Ajayi was called up to the Nigeria U20 squad for their 2013 Toulon Tournament matches.[42][43]

After being an unused substitute on Matchday 1 against Mexico U20,[44] Ajayi made his Nigeria U20 debut on 4 June 2013, in a 1–1 draw against Belgium U21.[45] Ajayi went on to make two further appearances in the tournament against Portugal[46] and Brazil. After the tournament ended, Ajayi commented that he was proud to play for the national side.[47]

Ajayi received his first call up to the senior team in August 2018 for 2019 African Cup of Nations Qualifiers, he described it as a "dream" call up. He made his debut against Seychelles in the 2019 Nation cup qualifiers, coming on for the injured Chidozie Awaziem in the 73rd minute. [48]

In December 2023, he was named in the 25-man squad for the 2023 African Cup of Nations in Côte d'Ivoire.[49] He was the only Nigerian player that played every single minute of Nigeria's seven matches as the team went on to emerge runners-up.[50]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of match played 15 December 2024[51]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Charlton Athletic 2012–13[52] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Dartford (loan) 2012–13[52] Conference National 3 1 0 0 — 1[a] 0 4 1
Arsenal 2013–14[52] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014–15[52] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cardiff City (loan) 2014–15[52] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Cardiff City 2015–16[52] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2016–17[52] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AFC Wimbledon (loan) 2015–16[53] League Two 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Crewe Alexandra (loan) 2015–16[53] League One 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
Rotherham United (loan) 2016–17[54] Championship 17 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 1
Rotherham United 2017–18[55] League One 35 4 1 0 2 1 4[b] 0 42 5
2018–19[56] Championship 46 7 1 0 2 1 0 0 49 8
Total 81 11 2 0 4 2 4 0 91 13
West Bromwich Albion 2019–20[57] Championship 43 5 1 0 0 0 — 44 5
2020–21[58] Premier League 33 2 1 1 0 0 — 34 3
2021–22[59] Championship 31 1 0 0 0 0 — 31 1
2022–23[60] Championship 22 2 3 0 0 0 — 25 2
2023–24[61] Championship 26 2 0 0 0 0 1[c] 0 27 2
2024–25[62] Championship 12 0 0 0 0 0 — 12 0
Total 167 12 5 1 0 0 1 0 173 13
Career total 286 25 7 1 4 2 6 0 303 28
  1. ^ Appearance in FA Trophy
  2. ^ One appearance in EFL Trophy, three appearances in League One play-offs
  3. ^ Appearance in Championship play-offs

International

[edit]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Nigeria
2018 4 0
2019 6 0
2020 4 0
2021 0 0
2022 6 0
2023 7 1
2024 11 0
Total 38 1
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first.[63]
List of international goals scored by Semi Ajayi
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 18 November 2023 Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Nigeria  Lesotho 1–1 1–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

[edit]

Rotherham United

Nigeria

Individual

Orders

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/03/2017 and 31/03/2017". The Football Association. p. 1. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Semi Ajayi". 11v11. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Semi Ayaji". Eurosport.
  4. ^ "Defender commits to Addicks". News Shopper. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Dartford sign Charlton Athletic's Semi Ajayi on loan". BBC Sport. 22 November 2012.
  6. ^ "Loan watch: Azeez makes debut". Charlton Athletic F.C. 26 November 2012. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Loan watch: Mambos cup blow". Charlton Athletic F.C. 3 December 2012. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Loan watch: Hollands begins rout". Charlton Athletic F.C. 24 December 2012. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Report: U21s seal national title". Charlton Athletic F.C. 12 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  10. ^ "Report: Charlton 2 Blackpool 1". Charlton Athletic F.C. 12 January 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Ajayi joins Arsenal". Arsenal. 23 September 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  12. ^ "Under-21s: Blackburn 0–3 Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. 30 August 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Who is Semi Ajayi? 19 things you should know about Cardiff City loanee some Arsenal fans dubbed 'New Sol Campbell'". Wales Online. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  14. ^ "Ajayi joins Bluebirds on loan". BBC Sport. 25 March 2015.
  15. ^ "Semi Ajayi joins Cardiff City from Arsenal". BBC Sport. 19 June 2015.
  16. ^ "SQUAD NUMBERS 2015/16". Cardiff City F.C. 6 August 2015. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  17. ^ "CAPITAL ONE CUP RD1: CARDIFF CITY 1–0 WIMBLEDON". Cardiff City F.C. 11 August 2015. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  18. ^ "REPORT: MK DONS 2–1 CARDIFF CITY AET". Cardiff City F.C. 25 August 2015. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  19. ^ "Semi Ajayi: Cardiff defender joins AFC Wimbledon on loan". BBC Sport. 29 September 2015.
  20. ^ "Wimbledon 1–1 Northampton". BBC Sport. 29 September 2015.
  21. ^ "AFC Wimbledon: Loanee Ajayi making the most of game time". News Shopper. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  22. ^ "Bayo Boost for Dons". AFC Wimbledon. 29 October 2015. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  23. ^ "Crewe sign Ajayi". Sky Sports. 26 November 2015.
  24. ^ "Sky Bet Football League Team of the Week". Football League. 30 November 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  25. ^ "Cardiff City defender Semi Ajayi extends his stay at Gresty Road". Stoke Sentinel. 6 January 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  26. ^ "Crewe Alexandra: Alex unlikely to extend Semi Ajayi's loan from Cardiff City". Stoke Sentinel. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  27. ^ "Crewe 1–1 Walsall Stalemate at Crewe". Sky Sports. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  28. ^ "Chesterfield 3–1 Crewe: Spireites gain first win in six matches at Proact Stadium". Sky Sports. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  29. ^ "Crewe Alexandra: Departing Semi Ajayi confident the Alex will stay up this season". Stoke Sentinel. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  30. ^ "Semi Ajayi: Rotherham sign Cardiff defender on loan until the end of the season". BBC.co.uk/sport. 30 January 2017. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  31. ^ "Nottingham Forest 2–0 Rotherham: Britt Assombalonga hits second-half double". Sky Sports. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  32. ^ "Rotherham 2–3 Huddersfield: Tommy Smith nets late winner as Terriers close on top two". Sky Sports. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  33. ^ "Rotherham United: Millers in Ajayi talks". The Star. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  34. ^ "Semi Ajayi: Rotherham sign Cardiff City defender on permanent deal". BBC Sport. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  35. ^ Scott, Ged (27 May 2018). "Rotherham United 2–1 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  36. ^ a b "Sky Bet EFL March awards: Player of the Month and Manager of the Month winners announced". Sporting Life. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  37. ^ "AWARDS | RUSC End of Season Awards". Goal. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  38. ^ "Semi Ajayi's stunner against Leeds wins Rotherham United's Goal of the Season". Goal. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  39. ^ "Ajayi completes West Brom switch". Rotherham United F.C. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  40. ^ "Albion add Ajayi to ranks". West Bromwich Albion Official Site. 20 July 2019.
  41. ^ Johnston, Neil (27 December 2020). "Liverpool 1-1 West Brom: Semi Ajayi scores dramatic late equalizer". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  42. ^ "Addicks pair impress internationally". Charlton Athletic F.C. 28 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  43. ^ "Nigeria squad named". All Africa. 23 May 2013.
  44. ^ "International watch: Duo disappointed". Charlton Athletic F.C. 30 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  45. ^ "Ajayis Nigeria earn point". Charlton Athletic F.C. 4 June 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  46. ^ "Tournament exit for Ajayi". Charlton Athletic F.C. 7 June 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  47. ^ "Ajayi proud of international recognition". Charlton Athletic F.C. 14 June 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  48. ^ "Rotherham United defender Semi Ajayi revels in dream Nigeria call-up". 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  49. ^ Nwachukwu, John Owen (29 December 2023). "AFCON 2023: Jose Peseiro releases 25-man squad [FULL LIST]". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  50. ^ Adewale, Abiodun (14 February 2024). "SILENT OPERATOR! Ajayi Eagles most consistent player at AFCON 2023". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  51. ^ "Semi Ajayi". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  52. ^ a b c d e f g Semi Ajayi at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  53. ^ a b "Games played by Semi Ajayi in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  54. ^ "Games played by Semi Ajayi in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  55. ^ "Games played by Semi Ajayi in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  56. ^ "Games played by Semi Ajayi in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  57. ^ "Games played by Semi Ajayi in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  58. ^ "Games played by Semi Ajayi in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  59. ^ "Games played by Semi Ajayi in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  60. ^ "Games played by Semi Ajayi in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  61. ^ "Games played by Semi Ajayi in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  62. ^ "Games played by Semi Ajayi in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  63. ^ "Semi Ajayi". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  64. ^ Scott, Ged (27 May 2018). "Rotherham United 2–1 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  65. ^ Stevens, Rob (11 February 2024). "Nigeria 1–2 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  66. ^ "Afcon: Ivory Coast and Nigeria players get cash, villas and honours". BBC News. 13 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
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