Amadou Onana

Amadou Onana

Onana playing for Lille in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Amadou Ba Zeund Georges Mvom Onana [1]
Date of birth	(2001-08-16) 16 August 2001 (age 23) [2]
Place of birth	Dakar, Senegal
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) [2]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Aston Villa
Number	24
Youth career
	Anderlecht
	RWS Bruxelles
0000–2017	Zulte Waregem
2017–2020	TSG Hoffenheim
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2020	TSG Hoffenheim II	1	(0)
2020–2021	Hamburger SV	25	(2)
2021–2022	Lille	32	(1)
2022–2024	Everton	63	(3)
2024–	Aston Villa	16	(2)
International career‡
2018	Belgium U17	12	(0)
2018–2019	Belgium U18	8	(0)
2019	Belgium U19	6	(0)
2021–2022	Belgium U21	7	(1)
2022–	Belgium	20	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:53, 18 January 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:46, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Amadou Ba Zeund Georges Mvom Onana (born 16 August 2001), is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa. Born in Senegal, he plays for the Belgium national team. A tall defensive midfielder, he is known for his aerial abilities as well as his defensive abilities such as tackling and winning back possession for his team.

Club career

Hamburger SV

Onana joined 2. Bundesliga club Hamburger SV in mid-2020. ^[3] He made his professional debut for the club in the first round of the 2020–21 DFB-Pokal on 14 September 2020, coming on as a substitute in the 60th minute against 3. Liga side Dynamo Dresden. He scored a header in the 89th minute of the match, which finished as a 4–1 away loss. ^[4]

Lille

In August 2021, Onana joined French champions Lille on a five-year deal. ^[5] He made 32 2021–22 Ligue 1 appearances in 2021–22, scoring once, ^[6] as well as appearing in all eight of the team's UEFA Champions League matches. ^[7]

Everton

Onana signed for Premier League club Everton on a five-year contract on 9 August 2022 for a reported £33m including add-ons. ^[8] He scored his first Premier League goal for Everton, a header from a corner, in a 2–1 home defeat against Southampton on 14 January 2023. ^[9] On 19 December 2023, Onana missed what would have been the winning penalty for Everton in their 2023–24 EFL Cup quarter-final against Fulham. With the penalties standing at 4–3 in Everton's favour, Onana attempted a penalty with no run up. Onana proceeded to pass the ball along the ground past Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno who easily saved the attempt. Fulham would go on to win 7–6 in the penalty shootout. ^[10]

Aston Villa

On 22 July 2024, Onana signed for fellow Premier League club Aston Villa, ^[11] signing a five-year contract in a transfer reported to be worth £50 million. ^[12] On 17 August 2024, he scored on his Aston Villa debut, in a 2–1 opening day victory over West Ham United. ^[13] Two weeks later, he scored the opening goal of Villa's 2–1 win at Leicester City, equalling his best goal tally in a league season after three matches of the 2024–25 Premier League season. ^[14]

On 17 September, Onana scored Aston Villa's third goal in their 3–0 win at BSC Young Boys on his UEFA Champions League debut for the club. ^[15]

International career

On 18 May 2022, Onana was named in the Belgium senior squad for the four 2022–23 UEFA Nations League matches in June 2022 against Netherlands, Poland (twice) and Wales respectively. ^[16] Onana made his full international debut against the Netherlands on 3 June 2022.

On 10 November 2022, Onana was named in the final 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. ^[17] He made two appearances at the tournament, appearing as a substitute in the first group game against Canada and starting against Morocco in the second. He was suspended for Belgium's final match, as the team drew 0–0 with Croatia and were eliminated. ^[18]

On 28 May 2024, he was selected in the 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024. ^[19] He played every minute of Belgium's four matches at the tournament, where they were knocked out by neighbours France in the round of 16. ^[20]

Personal life

Onana was born in Dakar, Senegal to a Senegalese mother and a Cameroonian father. ^{[21] [22] [23]} At the age of 11, Onana, with his mother and sister, moved to Brussels, Belgium to join his father. ^[24]

Onana is a Muslim. ^[25] He is fluent in five languages: Wolof, French, Dutch, German and English. ^{[26] [24]} Outside of football, he also makes rap music under the name 24AM; he released his debut single, "Check On Me," on 2 August 2024. ^[27]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 18 January 2025 ^[1]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
TSG Hoffenheim II	2018–19	Regionalliga Südwest	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
Hamburger SV	2020–21	2. Bundesliga	25	2	1	1	—		—		26	3
Lille	2021–22	Ligue 1	32	1	2	2	—		9 [c]	0	43	3
Everton	2022–23	Premier League	33	1	1	0	1	0	—		35	1
	2023–24	Premier League	30	2	3	0	4	1	—		37	3
	Total		63	3	4	0	5	1	—		72	4
Aston Villa	2024–25	Premier League	16	2	1	1	1	0	3 [c]	1	21	4
Career total			137	8	8	4	6	1	12	1	163	14

1. Includes DFB-Pokal, Coupe de France, FA Cup
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 14 November 2024 ^[28]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Belgium	2022	4	0
	2023	5	0
	2024	11	0
Total		20	0

Honours

Individual

• Aston Villa Player of the Month: August 2024 ^[29]

References

1. "A. Onana: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
2. "Amadou Onana: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
3. "HSV verpflichtet Amadou Onana" [HSV signs Amadou Onana]. hsv.de (in German). Hamburger SV. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
4. "Germany » DFB-Pokal 2020/2021 » 1. Round » Dynamo Dresden – Hamburger SV 4:1". WorldFootball.net. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
5. "LE CAPITAINE DES ESPOIRS BELGES AMADOU ONANA EST LILLOIS !" [The Belgium U21's captain Amadou Onana is lillos !]. losc.fr (in French). Lille. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
6. "Player". Ligue1. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
7. "Everton close to confirming Amadou Onana signing from Lille". The New York Times. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
8. "Onana Joins Everton". Everton F.C. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
9. Rose, Gary (14 January 2023). "Everton 1–2: Southampton". BBC Sport . Retrieved 14 January 2023.
10. "Everton 1-1 Fulham (7-6 to Fulham on pens): Tosin Adarabioyo scores winning penalty". BBC Sport. 18 December 2023.
11. "Aston Villa announce Amadou Onana signing". Aston Villa Football Club. 7 July 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
12. Townley, John (22 July 2024). "Aston Villa complete £50m transfer as Unai Emery makes big statement". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
13. "West Ham United vs Aston Villa: Premier League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
14. "Leicester vs Aston Villa result: Premier League score and match report". The Times . 31 August 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
15. "BSC Young Boys v Aston Villa: UEFA Champions League Live". Eurosport. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
16. "32 Rode Duivels voor 4 duels in juni: Onana en Openda zijn nieuw" [32 Red Devils for 4 duels in June: Onana and Openda are new]. sporza.be. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
17. "Roberto Martinez selects 26 Devils for the World Cup". Royal Belgian Football Association. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
18. "How much will Belgium need to rebuild Amadou Onana after Belgium's World Cup catastrophe?". The Athletic. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
19. "25 Devils go to EURO 2024". Royal Belgian Football Association. 28 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
20. "Amadou Onana – Statistics". UEFA. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
21. "Amadou Onana espère briller en Ligue des Champions: " Je n'ai pas trouvé un projet qui me convenait mieux que celui du LOSC "". 12 November 2021.
22. "Amadou Onana : le Capitaine des Diablotins est peut-être le chaînon manquant en milieu de terrain".
23. "Football (mercato) : qui est Amadou Onana, la nouvelle recrue du LOSC ?". 5 August 2021.
24. "LONG READ: ONANA'S PERSEVERANCE AND PRIDE". Everton F.C. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
25. "Abdoulaye Doucoure: Everton midfielder on Islam, Ramadan, Idrissa Gueye and Amadou Onana". BBC Sport. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
26. "'Andre's not even my name mate' 😅 | Amadou Onana jokes about how he became a meme". YouTube. Sky Sports Premier League. 22 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
27. @its_onana (2 August 2024). "My first ever track, who would've thought huh ? Be whoever you wanna be, that's all that matters. 'Check on me' by 24AM out on all platforms" . Retrieved 2 September 2024– via Instagram.
28. "Arthur Theate". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
29. "Amadou Onana voted August Player of the Month". Aston Villa Football Club. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.

External links

• Profile at the Aston Villa F.C. website
• Amadou Onana at the Royal Belgian Football Association
• Amadou Onana – UEFA competition record ( archive )