Kwame Poku

Kwame Poku

Personal information
Full name	Kwame Afriyie Adubofour Poku [1]
Date of birth	(2001-08-11) 11 August 2001 (age 23) [2]
Place of birth	Croydon, England
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) [3]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Peterborough United
Number	11
Youth career
	Cray Wanderers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2019	Cray Wanderers	0	(0)
2019	Worthing	12	(2)
2019–2021	Colchester United	62	(5)
2021–	Peterborough United	113	(26)
International career‡
2021–	Ghana	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:23, 9 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 May 2022 (UTC)

Kwame Afriyie Adubofour Poku (born 11 August 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League One side Peterborough United. Born in England, he represents Ghana internationally.

Club career

Born in Croydon, ^[3] Poku joined Worthing from Cray Wanderers in February 2019. With Cray Wanderers, he made one senior appearance in the Kent Senior Cup and scored twice in twelve appearances in the 2018–19 Isthmian League for Worthing. In May 2019, following a successful trial, he signed for Colchester United. ^[4]

On 3 September 2019, Poku made his professional debut for Colchester in a 3–2 EFL Trophy win against Gillingham. ^[5] He scored his first professional goal on 21 September 2019 in Colchester's 2–1 victory against Leyton Orient. ^[6]

On 5 December 2019, Poku signed a new two-and-a-half-year deal with Colchester to keep him with the Essex club until summer 2022. ^[7]

Peterborough United

On 2 August 2021, he signed a four-year contract with Peterborough United. ^[8] On 1 October 2022, Poku scored his first Peterborough goal in a 3–2 win against Milton Keynes Dons.

Having scored three goals in four matches, Poku was named EFL League One Player of the Month for September 2024. ^[9] His impressive form continued into the following month, seven goal involvements in six matches seeing him win the award for a second consecutive month. ^[10]

International career

Born in England, Poku is of Ghanaian descent. ^[11]

On 19 March 2021, Poku was called up to the Ghana national team for the first time for their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying games against South Africa and São Tomé and Príncipe. ^[12] He made his debut on 28 March 2021 after coming on as a 79th-minute substitute for Mohammed Kudus in a 3–1 victory over São Tomé and Príncipe at the Accra Sports Stadium. ^{[13] [14]}

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 9 November 2024 ^[2]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Colchester United	2019–20 [15]	League Two	29	5	1	0	2	0	6 [a]	0	38	5
	2020–21 [16]	League Two	33	0	1	0	1	0	2 [b]	1	37	1
	Total		62	5	2	0	3	0	8	1	75	6
Peterborough United	2021–22 [17]	Championship	20	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	23	0
	2022–23 [18]	League One	37	4	2	1	1	0	4 [c]	1	44	6
	2023–24 [19]	League One	37	11	4	0	2	0	6 [d]	1	49	12
	2024–25 [20]	League One	15	10	1	0	0	0	1 [b]	0	17	10
	Total		109	25	9	1	4	0	11	2	133	28
Career total			171	30	11	1	7	0	19	3	208	34

1. Four appearances in EFL Trophy, two appearances in EFL League Two play-offs
2. Appearances in EFL Trophy
3. Two appearances in EFL Trophy, two appearances and one goal in EFL League One play-offs
4. Four appearances and one goal in EFL Trophy, two appearances in EFL League One play-offs

International

As of match played 28 March 2021. ^[21]

International statistics

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Ghana	2021	1	0
Total		1	0

Honours

Peterborough United

• EFL Trophy: 2023–24 ^[22]

Individual

• EFL League One Player of the Month: September 2024, ^[9] October 2024 ^[10]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
2. Kwame Poku at Soccerway
3. "Colchester United". FootballSquads. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
4. "Starlet Kwame Poku tipped to challenge for Colchester United first-team spot following arrival from Worthing". Worthing Herald. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
5. "Gillingham vs. Colchester United 2–3". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
6. "Colchester United 2–1 Leyton orietn". BBC Sport. 21 September 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
7. "Kwame Poku: Colchester United striker agrees new contract at League Two club". BBC Sport. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
8. "Posh sign Colchester winger Poku". BBC Sport.
9. "Sky Bet League One Manager & Player of the Month September winners". www.efl.com. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
10. "Sky Bet League One: Manager and Player of the Month October Winners". www.efl.com. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
11. "Ghanaian Prodigy Kwame Poku in the double for Colchester". www.ghanaweb.com. 8 March 2020.
12. Carmichael, Andy (19 March 2021). "Kwame Poku Called Up For Ghana". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
13. Waldron, Jonathan (28 March 2021). "Colchester United attacker Kwame Poku makes international bow". Gazette. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
14. "Colchester United midfielder Kwame Adubofour Poku makes debut for Ghana". GhanaWeb. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
15. "Games played by Kwame Poku in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
16. "Games played by Kwame Poku in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
17. "Games played by Kwame Poku in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
18. "Games played by Kwame Poku in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
19. "Games played by Kwame Poku in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
20. "Games played by Kwame Poku in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
21. Carmichael, Andy (29 March 2021). "Kwame Poku Makes Ghana Debut". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
22. Harby, Chris (7 April 2024). "Peterborough United 2–1 Wycombe Wanderers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 April 2024.