Sheyi Ojo

Sheyi Ojo
Personal information
Full name Oluwaseyi Babajide Ojo[1]
Date of birth (1997-06-19) 19 June 1997[2]
Place of birth Hemel Hempstead, England
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing position Winger
Club information
Current team
 Liverpool
Number 54
Youth career
2007–2011 Milton Keynes Dons
2011–2015 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015– Liverpool 8 (0)
2015 → Wigan Athletic (loan) 11 (0)
2015–2016 → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 17 (2)
National team‡
2011–2012 England U16 3 (0)
2012–2014 England U17 11 (1)
2014–2015 England U18 9 (4)
2015–2016 England U19 14 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:04, 15 May 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:54, 30 August 2016 (UTC)

Oluwaseyi Babajide "Sheyi" Ojo (born 19 June 1997) is an English footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool as a winger.

Ojo joined Liverpool as a 14-year-old and came through their academy. He spent time on loan with Championship clubs Wigan Athetic and Wolverhampton Wanderers before making his competitive debut for Liverpool in January 2016.

Ojo has represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 levels.

Club career

Early career

Ojo joined MK Dons' academy when he was 10 years old. By the age of 13, he had played for the Dons' U18 side and was training with the first team squad.[3] During his time at the club, Ojo became the first MK Dons trainee to receive an international cap at youth level.[4]

Liverpool

On 11 November 2011, Liverpool beat off competition from a host of Europe's top clubs[5] including a multi-million pound offer from Chelsea[6] to sign Ojo, then 14, for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £2 million.[3] In April 2014, Ojo was joint top scorer alongside fellow Liverpool player Harry Wilson in the prestigious U17 Future Cup.

Loans to Wigan and Wolves

Having made a number of appearances on Liverpool's bench over the festive period, Ojo joined Wigan Athletic on loan on 2 February 2015.[7] Five days later, he made his professional debut coming on as a 59th-minute substitute for Wigan in a Championship match against AFC Bournemouth, with Wigan naming Ojo as their Man of the Match after he had a positive impact on the game.[8][9]

On 2 August 2015, Ojo scored the winning goal for Liverpool in a friendly against Swindon Town.[10] Two days later, Liverpool announced that Ojo had signed a new long-term contract with the club and confirmed that he would join Wolverhampton Wanderers on a season-long loan.[11] He made his Wolves debut on the opening day of the 2015–16 Championship season as a substitute, coming on in the 84th minute and picking up a yellow card as his side went on to beat Blackburn Rovers. Three days later, he made his first start for Wolves in a 2–1 League Cup win over Newport County, assisting Nouha Dicko for Wolves' opening goal.[12]

Return to Liverpool

He was recalled by Liverpool on 7 January 2016.[13] The next day, Ojo made his competitive first-team debut for Liverpool, as a substitute in the FA Cup Third Round tie against Exeter City that ended in a 2–2 draw.[14] He scored his first competitive goal for Liverpool in the replay against Exeter on 20 January; his goal was the second in a 3–0 victory.[15]

Ojo made his Premier League debut on 20 March 2016, replacing Joe Allen in the 87th minute in a 3–2 loss away to Southampton at St Mary's Stadium.[16] Three weeks later, he made his first start for Liverpool in the Premier League against Stoke City at Anfield, where he assisted Daniel Sturridge for Liverpool's second goal in a 4–1 win, before being replaced by Divock Origi.[17]

Ahead of the 2016–17 season, Ojo sustained a fracture in his back and did not return to first team training until mid-November.[18]

International career

As Ojo was born in England, he is eligible to represent England and through his Nigerian heritage is also eligible to play for Nigeria in international football. Ojo has represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 levels. In his early teens, Ojo often played at a higher age group at international level, representing England U17s at the St George's Park Tournament in 2012 aged 15.[19] Ojo represented England U17s in the 2014 Algarve Tournament, with England coming second to Germany after a 1–0 loss in the final game.[20]

In September 2014, Ojo received his first England U18 call-up for a double header against the Netherlands. Ojo appeared in both games with England winning by an aggregate score of 7–2.[21] On 27 August 2015, Ojo received his first call-up to the England U19 team and played 90 minutes in a 3–2 away win over Germany.[22][23] Later in the same tournament, he started against France and helped The Young Lions secure a 2–1 win by providing 2 assists.[24]

Personal life

Born in Hemel Hempstead, England, his name "Babajide" is a variant form of the Yoruba name: Babatunde, meaning "Father has Returned" or "Father Comes Back to Life".[25] During his time with the Liverpool Football Academy, Ojo was a student at Rainhill Media Arts College, in Rainhill, England.[26]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 May 2016
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liverpool 2014–15[27] Premier League 0000000000
2015–16[28] Premier League 8031—00111
Total 80310000111
Wigan Athletic (loan) 2014–15[27] Championship 1100000—110
Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 2015–16[28] Championship 1720021—193
Total 2820021—303
Career total 362312100414

References

  1. ↑ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/07/2014 and 31/07/2014" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Sheyi Ojo Profile". Premier League. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Liverpool sign up MK Dons schoolboy Seyi Ojo". BBC Sport. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "Liverpool sign MK Dons teenage midfielder Seyi Ojo". The Guardian. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Shennan, Paddy (18 December 2014). "Exclusive – meet a teenage dream team: rising Liverpool FC star Sheyi Ojo and aspiring beauty queen and actress Amaani Noor". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  6. ↑ Mokbel, Sami (14 October 2011). "Chelsea pay £2m for 14-year-old Oluwaseyi Ojo". Daily Mail. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Transfer news: Wigan sign Liverpool winger Sheyi Ojo on loan". Sky Sports. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Loan Watch: LFC youngster earns man of match on professional debut - despite only playing 30 minutes!". This Is Anfield. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Wigan Athletic 1–3 Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  10. ↑ Crafton, Adam (2 August 2015). "Swindon 1–2 Liverpool: Christian Benteke scores stunning volley on debut as Reds complete preparations ahead of Stoke test". Daily Mail. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "New Reds deal and loan switch for Ojo". Liverpool F.C. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  12. ↑ "Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 Newport County". BBC Sport. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  13. ↑ Patterson, Mike (7 January 2016). "Liverpool recall Sheyi Ojo from Wolves loan spell". Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  14. ↑ Rose, Gary (8 January 2016). "Exeter City 2–2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  15. ↑ Lewis, Aimee (20 January 2016). "Liverpool 3–0 Exeter City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  16. ↑ Henson, Mike (20 March 2016). "Southampton 3–2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  17. ↑ Rimmer, Joe (10 April 2016). "Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp on Kevin Stewart and Sheyi Ojo". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  18. ↑ Walsh, Kristian (14 November 2016). "Sheyi Ojo hands Liverpool boss Klopp another injury boost". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  19. ↑ Bennett, Tom (7 August 2012). "England Under 17s Squad Named For Early Season Tournament". The Youth Radar. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  20. ↑ Stonehouse, Gary (2 March 2014). "England Under-17 suffer late heartbreak in the Algarve". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  21. ↑ "Neil Dewsnip names U18 squad". The Football Association. 26 August 2014. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  22. ↑ Lynch, David (27 August 2015). "Rossiter and Ojo in England U19 squad". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  23. ↑ Stonehouse, Gary (4 September 2015). "England U19s pick up thrilling victory in Germany". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  24. ↑ Sanders, Emma (12 July 2016). "Sheyi Ojo provides two assists as England U19s defeat France". This Is Anfield. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  25. ↑ "Babatunde". Behind the Name. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  26. ↑ "LFC Academy Education Centre". Rainhill High School Media Arts College. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  27. 1 2 "Games played by Sheyi Ojo in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  28. 1 2 "Games played by Sheyi Ojo in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
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