Joel Joshoghene Asoro (born 27 April 1999) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ligue 2 club Metz and the Sweden national team.
 Asoro in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joel Joshoghene Asoro[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 April 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Stockholm, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger[2][3] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Metz | ||
| Number | 99 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2011 | IFK Haninge | ||
| 2011–2015 | IF Brommapojkarna | ||
| 2015–2016 | Sunderland | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2018 | Sunderland | 27 | (3) |
| 2018–2021 | Swansea City | 14 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | → Groningen (loan) | 15 | (3) |
| 2020–2021 | → Genoa (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2021–2023 | Djurgårdens IF | 71 | (12) |
| 2023– | Metz | 21 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014–2016 | Sweden U17 | 21 | (14) |
| 2016–2019 | Sweden U21 | 17 | (3) |
| 2023– | Sweden | 2 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 August 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:45, 13 January 2023 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editEarly career
editAsoro started his career in his local club IFK Haninge in a southern Stockholm suburb. When he was eleven years old he moved to IF Brommapojkarna, well known throughout Sweden for its youth academy which has produced players such as John Guidetti, Albin Ekdal, Simon Tibbling, Dejan Kulusevski and Ludwig Augustinsson. Asoro was targeted for some of Europe's leading clubs, among them Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Juventus.[4]
Sunderland
editAsoro signed for English side Sunderland in 2015.[5] On 21 August 2016, a year after joining the club, Asoro made his professional debut in the Premier League against Middlesbrough, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute for Duncan Watmore;[6] in doing so he became Sunderland's youngest Premier League player, as well as the youngest Swedish national to feature.[7] On 24 August 2016, Asoro was given his first Sunderland start under manager David Moyes in a 1–0 victory over League One side Shrewsbury Town in an EFL Cup second round tie. Asoro later appeared as a starter in the EFL Cup Round 3 victory over Championship side Queens Park Rangers and was subbed off for Josh Maja.[8] On 18 January 2017, Asoro came off the substitutes bench to feature in a 2–0 FA Cup 4th Round Replay defeat to Burnley. Asoro scored his first Sunderland goal in a 1–0 victory over Hull City on 20 January 2018.
Swansea City
editAsoro joined Swansea City on a four-year contract for a fee of £2 million in July 2018.[9]
Loan to Groningen
editOn 15 August 2019, Asoro agreed to a loan move to Eredivisie club Groningen for the 2019–20 season.[10] He made 17 appearances and scored three goals for the side before the football season in the Netherlands was suspended in March.
Loan to Genoa
editOn 16 September 2020, Asoro joined Serie A club Genoa on a season-long loan deal with a conditional obligation to buy.[11]
Djurgårdens IF
editOn 8 February 2021, Asoro signed with Allsvenskan club Djurgårdens IF, keeping him with the club until 31 December 2024.[12]
Metz
editOn 25 August 2023, Asoro joined Ligue 1 club Metz on a four-year contract, keeping him with the club until June 2027.[13] On 16 September, Asoro scored his first goal with the Lorraine club, the only one in a 1–0 away win over Lens.[citation needed]
International career
editOn 5 September 2016, Asoro made his debut for Sweden U21 starting the game against Spain in 1–1 draw.[14] He made his full international debut for Sweden on 9 January 2023, replacing Christoffer Nyman 82 minutes into a friendly 2–0 win against Finland in which he also scored his first international goal.[15]
Personal life
editAsoro's parents are from Nigeria.[16] His sister, Abigail Glomazic is a professional basketball player who has played with the likes of CCC Polkowice and Sleza Wroclaw in Poland.
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 30 March 2024[17]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sunderland | 2016–17 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2017–18 | EFL Championship | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 29 | 3 | ||
| Total | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 33 | 3 | |||
| Swansea City | 2018–19 | EFL Championship | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | EFL Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| Groningen (loan) | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 3 | ||
| Genoa (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Djurgården | 2021 | Allsvenskan | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 26 | 3 | |
| 2022 | Allsvenskan | 29 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12[a] | 7 | 43 | 13 | |
| 2023 | Allsvenskan | 16 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4[a] | 1 | 25 | 5 | |
| Total | 71 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 8 | 94 | 21 | ||
| Metz | 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | |
| Career total | 147 | 20 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 8 | 184 | 29 | ||
- ^ a b Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
International
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 2023 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Asoro goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 January 2023 | Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé, Portugal |  Finland
|
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | [15] |
References
edit- ^ "Player profile".
- ^ "Joel Asoro". Sunderland A.F.C. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ "Joel Asoro". UEFA. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ "UEFA.com's weekly wonderkid: Joel Asoro". Uefa.com. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- ^ "Sunderland Sign 'One Of Sweden's Greatest Talents". Roker Report. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ^ "Sunderland vs. Middlesbrough". Soccerway.
- ^ "Arsenal scout Joel Asoro, so who is he and why would Arsenal want him?". Soccerway.
- ^ "Sunderland 1–0 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ "Swansea City complete signing of Sunderland winger Joel Asoro". BBC Sport. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ "Joel Asoro makes Groningen loan move". Swansea City A.F.C. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ "Joel Asoro: Swansea City winger joins Genoa on season-long loan". BBC Sport. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ "Joel Asoro klar för Djurgården" [Joel Asoro ready for Djurgården]. Djurgården Fotboll (in Swedish). 8 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Joel Asoro signe à Metz jusqu'en 2027 (officiel)". L'Équipe.
- ^ a b "Joel Asoro - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 January 2023.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Sverige - Finland - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
- ^ Emmanuel, Ifeanyi. "Sunderland Prodigy Joel Asoro Prefers To Represent Nigeria Ahead Of Sweden:: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". All Nigeria soccer. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ Joel Asoro at Soccerway