Ernest Poku

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Ernest Poku
Ernest Poku.png
Poku in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-01-28) 28 January 2004 (age 21)
Place of birth Hamburg, Germany
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) [1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Bayer Leverkusen
Number 19
Youth career
–2019 FC Amsterdam
2019–2021 AZ
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2021 Jong AZ 54 (15)
2021–2025 AZ 50 (3)
2025– Bayer Leverkusen 2 (0)
International career‡
2020 Netherlands U16 2 (0)
2022 Netherlands U19 6 (1)
2023– Netherlands U21 6 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 August 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:18, 25 March 2025 (UTC)

Ernest Poku (born 28 January 2004) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. He is a Dutch youth international.

Contents

Club career

He played as a youngster for FC Amsterdam prior to joining the youth academy at AZ in the summer of 2019. He signed his first professional contract with AZ in February 2020, with the contract valid until mid-2023. [2] [3] On 30 April 2021, he made his debut for Jong AZ as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Roda JC. [4] [5] He trained with the club's first team during the pre-season for the 2021–22 season, [6] and made his debut for AZ as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat to RKC Waalwijk in the opening match of the season on 14 August 2021. [7] [4]

On 28 January 2022, after a contract extension, he was promoted from Jong AZ to the first team of AZ. [8] He scored his first goal in the Eredivisie for AZ Alkmaar on 28 April 2024, the third goal in a 3-0 away against NEC Nijmegen. [9] Hw made his debut in the UEFA Europa League in October 2024, appearing as a substitute in a 2-0 defeat away against Athletic Bilbao. [10] He played in the final of the KNVB Cup as AZ lost to Go Ahead Eagles on penalties on 21 April 2025. The game had ended 1-1 in normal time after Go Ahead Eagles scored a 98th minute equaliser. [11]

On 12 August 2025, German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen announced the signing of Poku for a reported fee of €10 million with an additional €2 million in add-ons. He signed a five-year deal until June 2030. [12] [13]

International career

Born in Germany, Poku is of Ghanaian descent. [14] He made two appearances for the Netherlands national under-16 team in 2020. [15] In 2022 he was named in the Dutch U19 squad. [16] He scored his first goal for the Dutch U19 side against Ukraine U19 in June 2022. [17] He was later promoted into the Dutch U21 side. [18]

Career statistics

As of match played 18 September 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] EuropeTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Jong AZ 2020–21 Eerste Divisie 30——30
2021–22 Eerste Divisie222——222
2022–23 Eerste Divisie152——152
2023–24 Eerste Divisie1411——1411
Total5415——5415
AZ 2021–22 Eredivisie 40002 [b] 060
2022–23 Eredivisie00000000
2023–24 Eredivisie201216 [c] 0282
2024–25 Eredivisie2524010 [b] 0392
2025–26 Eredivisie10003 [c] 141
Total50361211775
Bayer Leverkusen 2025–26 Bundesliga 20101 [d] 040
Career total106187122113520

References

  1. ↑ "Ernest Poku". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "AZ 'houdt spits (16) uit handen van Ajax' en schotelt profcontract voor". Voetbalprimeur (in Dutch). 14 February 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  3. ↑ Zwartkruis, Simon (5 August 2021). "De toekomst van AZ: 'Eerste jeugdtoernooi Poku met ons was onvergetelijk'". Voetbal International (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  4. 1 2 "E. Poku". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  5. ↑ Willems, Marijn (7 May 2021). "Ernest Poku blij met debuut voor Jong AZ". NH Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  6. ↑ Wanst, Rob (11 July 2021). "Alkmaarse groeibriljant Ernest Poku laat zich zien in de voorbereiding". NH Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  7. ↑ Swagers, Stef (14 August 2021). "Matig AZ begint competitie met nederlaag bij RKC Waalwijk". NH Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "AZ verlengt met Poku - AZ". 29 January 2022. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  9. ↑ "NEC VS. AZ 0 - 3". Soccerway. 28 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  10. ↑ "ATHLETIC BILBAO VS. AZ 2 - 0". Soccerway. 3 October 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  11. ↑ "Go Ahead Eagles Win The KNVB Cup". Football-Oranje. 21 April 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  12. ↑ "Bayer 04 sign Netherlands U21 international Poku from Alkmaar | Bayer04.de". Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fussball GmbH. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "Official | Ernest Poku joins Bayer Leverkusen for €12m - Get German Football News". 12 August 2025. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  14. ↑ "Ghanaian teen Ernest Poku included in AZ Alkmaar pre-season squad". GhanaSoccernet. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  15. ↑ "Ernest Poku » Internationals". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "FINAL SELECTION UNDER 19 FOR THE FIRST EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING ROUND". Onsiranje.nl. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  17. ↑ "Ghanaian teen Ernest Poku scores in Netherlands U19's defeat to Ukraine". Ghanasoccernet.com. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  18. ↑ "Netherlands U21s Beat Italy Despite Two Red Cards". Football-ornaje. 21 March 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
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