Enock Mwepu

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Enock Mwepu
FC Admira Wacker Modling vs. FC Red Bull Salzburg 2018-04-15 (077).jpg
Mwepu with Red Bull Salzburg in 2018
Personal information
Full name Enock Mwepu [1]
Date of birth (1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Lusaka, Zambia
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) [2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2016–2017 NAPSA Stars
2017 Kafue Celtic
2017–2021 Red Bull Salzburg 81 (11)
2017–2018Liefering (loan) 23 (6)
2021–2022 Brighton & Hove Albion 24 (2)
Total128(19)
International career
2017 Zambia U17
2017–2018 Zambia U20 10 (3)
2017–2022 Zambia [3] 23 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Enock Mwepu (born 1 January 1998) is a Zambian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Contents

Having begun his career in his native Zambia, Mwepu signed for Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg in 2017 [4] before moving Brighton & Hove Albion in 2021. Mwepu represented and captained the Zambia national team. On 10 October 2022, he was forced to retire following the discovery of a hereditary heart condition. [5]

Club career

Early career

Mwepu's career began with Kafue Celtic in Lusaka before being identified with the 2013 Airtel Rising Stars. [6] During the 2015–16 season, Mwepu had little game time with Power Dynamos football club of Copperbelt; this precipitated into a move to NAPSA Stars at the end of the 2017 season.[ citation needed ]

Salzburg and loan to Liefering

In June 2017, Mwepu joined Red Bull Salzburg and was loaned out to Salzburg's feeder club Liefering who play in Austrian Football First League. [4] During the 2019–20 season, Mwepu established himself amongst Salzburg's starting eleven. He made his debut in the UEFA Champions League during a 4–3 loss to Liverpool at Anfield. [7] On 18 December 2019, Mwepu extended his contract with Salzburg until summer 2024. [8]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 6 July 2021, he joined Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion on a four-year contract, for an undisclosed fee. [9] He scored in a 3–1 pre-season friendly win at Luton Town on 31 July. [10]

He made his competitive Albion debut on 14 August in the opening game of the 2021–22 season away at Burnley where he was replaced by Adam Lallana at half time of the eventual 2–1 victory at Turf Moor. [11] On 24 August, Mwepu assisted Jakub Moder's first Albion goal in the second round EFL Cup away fixture at Cardiff City where Albion won 2–0. [12] He scored his first goal for The Seagulls on 27 October, putting them back level to 2–2 in an eventual penalty shootout loss – in which his penalty was saved – away at Leicester City in the EFL Cup. [13] Three days later, he scored his first league goal for the Sussex side, inspiring Brighton's come back with a stunning 25–yard strike in an eventual 2–2 away draw against Liverpool. [14]

Mwepu had a slow start to 2022 and in general to his time in Sussex due to injury and illness, thus had limited playing time. [15] On his first start since his return from injury Mwepu scored and made an assist for Trossard's opener in the 2–1 away win at Arsenal on 9 April, to help Brighton end their seven match run without a victory. [16] Graham Potter spoke that Mwepu has a "slight injury in his groin which probably means that will be him for the rest of the season," after picking up the knock during the 3–0 away victory at Wolves on 30 April. [17] [18] His debut season with The Seagulls was marred by injuries though he had made a positive impact and at the club's end of season awards Mwepu won Goal of the Season for his strike at Liverpool in October. [19] Mwepu managed to recover in time to appear as a substitute in the last game of the season, a 3–1 home victory over West Ham, with Brighton achieving their highest top flight finish in ninth place. [20]

On 10 October 2022, Mwepu retired from professional football at the age of 24 after being diagnosed with a rare hereditary heart condition. [5]

International career

In 2014 Mwepu was part of the Zambia national under-17 team that represented the country at the 2015 African U-17 Championship, where Zambia played Niger, Nigeria and Guinea from group A. [21] Mwepu is known for his versatility in the field of play as demonstrated at the 2017 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Zambia, [22] where he scored a goal and was among the best substitutes of the tournament. [23]

Mwepu scored his first international goal for Zambia in an AFCON Qualifier against Algeria on 2 September 2017 at the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka, a match which Zambia won 3–1.[ citation needed ]

Coaching career

After retiring from professional football due to his heart condition, Brighton announced on 30 December that Mwepu had been appointed to serve in the role of under-9s coach in their academy from January 2023. [24]

Personal life

His younger brother Francisco Mwepu is also a professional footballer. [25]

In January 2023, it was confirmed that Mwepu was in hospital in Zambia after a suspected heart attack, coming just a few months after being forced to retire from football due to a hereditary heart condition. [26] Brighton announced he was receiving precautionary checks as a result. [27]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition [28]
ClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupEuropeTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Liefering 2017–18 2. Liga 236236
Red Bull Salzburg 2017–18 Austrian Bundesliga 812000101
2018–19 191316 [lower-alpha 1] 0282
2019–20 254417 [lower-alpha 2] 0365
2020–21 2956510 [lower-alpha 3] 04510
Total81111570023011918
Brighton & Hove Albion 2021–22 Premier League 1821021213
2022–23 60000060
Total242102100273
Career total128191672123016927
  1. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Eight appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League

International goals

Scores and results list Zambia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mwepu goal. [29]
List of international goals scored by Enock Mwepu
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
12 September 2017 National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, ZambiaFlag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 3–13–1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
216 June 2019 Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, MoroccoFlag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 3–23–2 Friendly
312 November 2020 National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, ZambiaFlag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 1–12–1 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
43 September 2021 Stade Olympique, Nouakchott, MauritaniaFlag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania 1–02–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
525 March 2022Kervansaray Sport Centre - Field 1, Antalya, TurkeyFlag of the Republic of the Congo.svg  Congo 1–03–1 Friendly
67 June 2022 National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, ZambiaFlag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros 1–12–1 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg [29]

Zambia U20 [29]

Individual

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