Brian Brobbey

Brian Brobbey

Brobbey playing for Ajax in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Brian Ebenezer Adjei Brobbey
Date of birth	(2002-02-01) 1 February 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) [1]
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Ajax
Number	9
Youth career
0000–2010	AFC
2010–2018	Ajax
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–2021	Jong Ajax	32	(16)
2020–2021	Ajax	12	(3)
2021–2022	RB Leipzig	9	(0)
2022	→ Ajax (loan)	11	(7)
2022–	Ajax	60	(31)
International career‡
2017	Netherlands U15	6	(4)
2017	Netherlands U16	5	(5)
2017–2019	Netherlands U17	24	(16)
2019	Netherlands U19	2	(1)
2021–	Netherlands U21	17	(9)
2023–	Netherlands	1	(0)
Medal record Representing   Netherlands UEFA European Under-17 Championship Winner England 2018 Winner Ireland 2019
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 June 2023

Brian Ebenezer Adjei Brobbey (born 1 February 2002) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Netherlands national team.

Club career

Early career

Brobbey began his youth career with AFC before joining the Ajax academy in 2010. ^{[2] [3]}

Ajax

Brobbey made his Ajax debut in the Eredivisie on 31 October 2020, coming on as a substitute and scoring in a 5–2 victory over Fortuna Sittard. ^[4] He made his European debut in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League against Atalanta on 9 December 2020 and his performance was praised by coach Erik ten Hag. ^[5]

On 3 February 2021, Ajax director of football Marc Overmars, confirmed that Brobbey would leave the club at the expiry of his contract at the end of the season. ^[6] Brobbey scored his first goal in a European competition on 18 February, netting Ajax's second goal in their Europa League round of 32 first leg away win over Lille. ^[7]

RB Leipzig

On 12 March 2021, RB Leipzig announced the signing of Brobbey. ^[8] He joined them on 1 July 2021. ^[8]

Return to Ajax on loan

On 27 December 2021, it was announced that Brobbey would return to Ajax on a six-month loan spell without an option to buy. ^[9] He was assigned shirt number 18, previously worn that season by Jurgen Ekkelenkamp. ^[10] He made his first appearance on 16 January 2022 in an away match against FC Utrecht as the starting striker, securing two goals before being substituted-off in the 70th minute for Davy Klaassen in a 3–0 victory. ^[11]

Return to Ajax

On 22 July 2022, Ajax confirmed the re-signing of Brian Brobbey on a five-year contract for a fee of €16.35 million plus €3 million in potential add ons. ^[12] He made his competitive return debut on the first matchday of the 2022–23 season, also scoring his first return goal for Ajax in a 3–2 away win over Fortuna Sittard on 6 August. ^[13] On 16 and 22 October 2022, Brobbey scored back-to-back braces, leading his team to a 7–1 victory over Excelsior and a 4–1 win over RKC Waalwijk, respectively. ^{[14] [15]} Brobbey scored 14 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions during the season, as he was in and out of the starting lineup under first head coach Alfred Schreuder, and since interim coach John Heitinga. ^{[16] [17]}

In the following season, Brobbey began as a starter in attack under newly appointed manager Maurice Steijn. ^[18]

International career

Born in the Netherlands, Brobbey is of Ghanaian descent. ^[19] Brobbey represented the Netherlands U17 at both the 2018 and 2019 editions of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, winning both competitions respectively. ^{[20] [21]}

In October 2022, Brobbey was included in the preliminary squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. ^[22]

In October 2023, he received his first official call-up to the Netherlands senior national team for two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers against France and Greece. ^[23]

Personal life

He is a younger brother of fellow football player Samuel Brobbey and cousin to Derrick Luckassen and Kevin Luckassen. ^[24]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 5 May 2024 ^[25]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [lower-alpha 1]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Jong Ajax	2018–19	Eerste Divisie	2	0	—		—		—		2	0
	2019–20		13	7	—		—		—		13	7
	2020–21		17	9	—		—		—		17	9
	Total		32	16	—		—		—		32	16
Ajax	2020–21	Eredivisie	12	3	0	0	7 [lower-alpha 2]	3	—		19	6
RB Leipzig	2021–22	Bundesliga	9	0	1	0	4 [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		14	0
Ajax (loan)	2021–22	Eredivisie	11	7	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		13	7
Ajax	2022–23		32	13	4	1	7 [lower-alpha 4]	0	1 [lower-alpha 5]	0	44	14
	2023–24		28	18	1	1	12 [lower-alpha 6]	3	—		41	22
	Total		60	31	5	2	19	3	1	0	85	36
Career total			124	56	7	2	31	6	1	0	163	64

1. Includes DFB-Pokal, KNVB Cup
2. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and three goals in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
4. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield
6. Eight appearances in UEFA Europa League, four appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 16 October 2023

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Netherlands	2023	1	0
Total		1	0

Honours

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 2020–21, 2021–22
• KNVB Cup: 2020–21 ^[26]

Netherlands U17

• UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2018, ^[20] 2019 ^[21]

Individual

• Eredivisie Player of the Month: December 2023, ^[27] January 2024 ^[28]
• Eredivisie Talent of the Month: May 2022, ^[29] August 2022, ^[30] October 2022 ^[31]
• Eredivisie Team of the Month: May 2022, ^[32] August 2022, ^[33] October 2022, ^[34] December 2023, ^[35] January 2024 ^[36]
• Ajax Player of the Year (Rinus Michels Award): 2023–24 ^[37]

References

1. "B. Brobbey: Summary". soccerway. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
2. "Ajax legt goaltjesdief Brobbey (16) vast". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 7 June 2018.
3. "Brian Brobbey | Ajax Showtime". ajaxshowtime.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 June 2021.
4. "Ajax thrash Fortuna Sittard 5-2". ESPN. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
5. "Brian Brobbey: Ajax boss Ten Hag commends Ghana target despite Champions League disappointment". Goal. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
6. "Brobbey to leave Ajax". Football Oranje. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
7. "Weah on target but Ajax stun Lille". Ligue 1. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
8. "RasenBallsport Leipzig - Brobbey joins RB Leipzig". RB Leipzig Official Website. 12 March 2021. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
9. "Brian Brobbey keert op huurbasis terug bij Ajax, geen optie tot koop". Het Parool. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
10. "Brobbey: 'Ten Hag zei na één wedstrijd tegen me: Tijd dat je terug naar huis komt'".
11. "Utrecht vs. Ajax". Soccerway. 16 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
12. "Ajax and RB Leipzig reach agreement for Brian Brobbey". Ajax. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
13. "Ajax begint eredivisie met zege op Fortuna dankzij reparatie in de rust". NOS (in Dutch). 6 August 2022. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
14. "Ajax speelt chagrijn van zich af met doelpuntenfestijn tegen Excelsior". NOS (in Dutch). 16 October 2022. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
15. "Berghuis wijst pover Ajax met twee treffers en fraaie assist de weg in Waalwijk". NOS (in Dutch). 22 October 2022. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
16. "Brobbey rekent na nieuwe dubbelslag op behouden van basisplaats". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 22 October 2022. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
17. Planting, Sam (4 April 2023). "Waarom Brian Brobbey ondanks doelpuntendrift stokt in zijn ontwikkeling" . Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 October 2023.
18. Meijaard, Thijs (25 August 2023). "Maurice Steijn neemt het op voor Brian Brobbey en is lovend over 'een van zijn beste spelers' bij Ajax". FCUpdate.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 October 2023.
19. "Ajax-debutant Brobbey 'moet behaagd worden': 'Contract loopt af, is ook politiek'". www.voetbalprimeur.nl.
20. Sky Sports (20 May 2019). "Netherlands win U17 European Championship after penalty shootout win over Italy". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
21. "Netherlands clinch title". UEFA. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
22. @OnsOranje (21 October 2022). "🦁 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐝: This is the longlist of 39 players where our final World Cup 2022 squad will be selected from! 📋" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
23. "Nick Olij debuteert in Oranjeselectie" [Nick Olij debutes in Dutch national team squad]. KNVB (in Dutch). 6 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
24. Brian Brobbey at Soccerway
25. "B. Brobbey". Soccerway. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
26. "Neres' stoppage-time goal seals Dutch Cup win". AFC Ajax. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
27. "Brobbey crowned Eredivisie player of the month, Tahirović Johan Cruyff talent of the month". Eredivisie. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
28. "Double prize won for Ajax again: Brobbey and Hlynsson named Eredivisie player of the month and Johan Cruyff talent of the month for January". Eredivisie. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
29. "Brian Brobbey is Johan Cruijff Talent of the Month in May". Eredivisie. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
30. "Xavi Simons named as Eredivisie Player of the Month August". Eredivisie. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
31. "Brian Brobbey is Johan Cruijff Talent of the Month for October". Eredivisie. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
32. "Seven clubs provide players for Eredivisie team of the month (May)". Eredivisie. 20 May 2022.
33. "Xavi Simons named as Eredivisie Player of the Month August". Eredivisie. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
34. "Cody Gakpo is the Eredivisie Player of the Month for the second month running". Eredivisie. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
35. "Eredivisie Team of the Month includes players from nine teams". Eredivisie. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
36. "Ajax main supplier in the Eredivisie Team of the Month for January". Eredivisie. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
37. "Brobbey verkozen tot Speler van het Jaar" (in Dutch). Ajax Showtime.

External links

• Profile at the AFC Ajax website
• Profile at the Royal Dutch Football Association website (in Dutch)
• Brian Brobbey – UEFA competition record ( archive )