Timothy Fosu-Mensah

Timothy Fosu-Mensah

Fosu-Mensah playing for Manchester United in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Evans Timothy Fosu Fosu-Mensah [1]
Date of birth	(1998-01-02) 2 January 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) [2]
Position(s)	Defender Defensive midfielder
Youth career
2005–2006	USCL
2006–2014	Ajax
2014–2016	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2021	Manchester United	16	(0)
2017–2018	→ Crystal Palace (loan)	21	(0)
2018–2019	→ Fulham (loan)	12	(0)
2021–2024	Bayer Leverkusen	23	(0)
International career‡
2013	Netherlands U15	4	(0)
2013–2014	Netherlands U16	7	(0)
2014–2015	Netherlands U17	13	(1)
2015–2017	Netherlands U19	10	(0)
2016	Netherlands U21	5	(0)
2017–2018	Netherlands	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2018 (UTC)

Evans Timothy Fosu Fosu-Mensah (born 2 January 1998) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder, centre-back or full-back. He formerly played for Dutch club Ajax's youth team, and then for Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen.

Club career

Manchester United

Born in Amsterdam to Ghanaian parents, Fosu-Mensah began his career with Ajax, before moving to England in 2014. Fosu-Mensah played for Manchester United's youth teams in a variety of positions, including centre-back, right-back and central midfield. He made his professional debut at left-back on 28 February 2016, in a 3–2 Premier League win at home to Arsenal, coming on as a 55th-minute substitute for Marcos Rojo. ^[3]

On 19 October 2016, he signed a new long-term contract with Manchester United until 2020, with the option to extend for a further year. ^[4]

Crystal Palace (on loan)

On 10 August 2017, Fosu-Mensah joined Crystal Palace on a season-long loan, reuniting with his former boss at Ajax, Frank de Boer. ^[5] He made his debut for Palace two days later on 12 August 2017 against newly promoted Huddersfield Town, losing 3–0. ^[6] Despite the defeat, Fosu-Mensah was praised for his last-minute tackle on Steve Mounié, denying him a hat-trick. ^{[7] [8]}

Fulham (on loan)

On 9 August 2018, Fosu-Mensah joined Fulham on a season-long loan. ^[9] He made his debut for Fulham on 18 August 2018, in a 3–1 away defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, playing the full 90 minutes. On 13 April 2019, he suffered a knee ligament injury which saw him return to Manchester United. ^{[10] [11]}

Return to United

On 27 June 2020, Fosu-Mensah made his first United senior matchday squad since 21 May 2017 as he sat on the bench for 120 minutes in an FA Cup tie against Norwich City. ^[12]

On 16 July 2020, Fosu-Mensah started for United against former side Crystal Palace, his first start since 21 May 2017, when he faced Palace at Selhurst Park. ^[13] On 4 November, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in a 2–1 away defeat against İstanbul Başakşehir. ^[14]

Bayer Leverkusen

Fosu-Mensah in 2022

On 13 January 2021, Fosu-Mensah completed a transfer from Manchester United to Bayer Leverkusen. ^[15] A month later, on 28 February, he suffered another knee ligament injury that ended his 2020–21 season. ^[16]

On 15 January 2022, Fosu-Mensah made his first appearance in 321 days, coming off the bench in the second half of a 2–1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach. ^[17] On 17 March, he sustained a hamstring injury during a Europa League match against Atalanta, sidelining him for the rest of the season. ^[18] Later that year, on 4 October, he played his first Champions League match for the club in a 2–0 away defeat against FC Porto. ^[19] Throughout the 2022–23 season, he featured in just 11 matches in Bundesliga, spending most of his time on the bench. ^[20]

Later on, he was absent from all matches throughout the triumphant 2023–24 season, resulting in him missing out on medals. ^[21]

International career

Having played at under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-19 levels for the Netherlands but also eligible for Ghana, Fosu-Mensah was rewarded for his performances for Manchester United with his first call-up to the senior team for friendlies against the Republic of Ireland, Poland and Austria. He was also eligible to play for Ghana as he qualified through his parents. He received another call-up to the Dutch senior squad on 28 August 2017, replacing the injured Kenny Tete for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against France and Bulgaria. ^[22] Fosu-Mensah made his first senior appearance for the Netherlands on 31 August 2017, when he was named in the starting line-up against France in a 4–0 defeat. ^[23]

Personal life

Fosu-Mensah is the brother of fellow footballers Alfons and Paul. ^[24]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 23 April 2023 ^[25]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [lower-alpha 1]		League cup [lower-alpha 2]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester United	2015–16	Premier League	8	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		10	0
	2016–17		4	0	2	0	1	0	4 [lower-alpha 3]	0	0	0	11	0
	2017–18		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2018–19		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2019–20		3	0	1	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		6	0
	2020–21		1	0	0	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 4]	0	—		3	0
	Total		16	0	5	0	1	0	8	0	0	0	30	0
Crystal Palace (loan)	2017–18	Premier League	21	0	1	0	2	0	—		—		24	0
Fulham (loan)	2018–19	Premier League	12	0	0	0	1	0	—		—		13	0
Bayer Leverkusen	2020–21	Bundesliga	6	0	1	0	—		0	0	—		7	0
	2021–22		6	0	0	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		8	0
	2022–23		11	0	0	0	—		4 [lower-alpha 5]	0	—		15	0
	2023–24		0	0	0	0	—		0	0	—		0	0
	Total		23	0	1	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	30	0
Career total			72	0	7	0	4	0	14	0	0	0	97	0

1. Includes FA Cup, DFB-Pokal
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
5. Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 26 March 2018 ^[26]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Netherlands	2017	2	0
	2018	1	0
Total		3	0

Honours

Manchester United

• FA Cup: 2015–16 ^[27]
• UEFA Europa League: 2016–17 ^[28]

References

1. "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
2. "Timothy Fosu-Mensah". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
3. Jurejko, Jonathan (28 February 2016). "Manchester United 3–2 Arsenal". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
4. "Manchester United news: Timothy Fosu-Mensah signs new long-term deal at Old Trafford" . The Independent . 19 October 2016. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
5. "Fosu-Mensah Joins On One Year Loan". cpfc.co.uk. Crystal Palace FC. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
6. "Crystal Palace 0–3 Huddersfield Town". BBC Sport. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
7. "Crystal Palace fans react on Twitter to Timothy Fosu-Mensah's debut performance". Here Is The City. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
8. "Manchester United defender Tim Fosu-Mensah a silver lining for Crystal Palace". 14 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
9. "Timothy Fosu-Mensah joins Fulham on loan from Manchester United". Manchester Evening News. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
10. "Fosu-Mensah Update". Fulham Football Club. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
11. Higgins, Adam (19 April 2019). "Fosu-Mensah to return to United after surgery". Manchester United. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
12. Chowdhury, Saj (27 June 2020). "Norwich City 1-2 Manchester United: Harry Maguire scores extra-time winner". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
13. Marshall, Tyrone (16 July 2020). "Why Timothy Fosu-Mensah is starting for Manchester United vs Crystal Palace". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
14. "Basaksehir 2-1 Manchester United: Champions League – as it happened". The Guardian. 4 November 2020.
15. Marshall, Adam (13 January 2021). "Tim Fosu-Mensah completes permanent transfer to Bayer Leverkusen". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
16. "United players react to Fosu-Mensah's injury news". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
17. Flintham, Jack (17 January 2022). "Man United players react as Fosu-Mensah plays first game in almost a year". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
18. "Oberschenkelverletzung: Fosu-Mensah fällt wochenlang aus". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 19 March 2022.
19. "3rd matchday UEFA Champions League 2022/23". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 4 October 2022.
20. "T. Fosu-Mensah". Soccerway.
21. "Former Man United man Timothy Fosu-Mensah set to miss out Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga medal". The Peoples Person. 16 April 2024.
22. "Timothy Fosu-Mensah naar Oranje". OnsOranje. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
23. "Manchester United player Timothy Fosu-Mensah sends message to Jose Mourinho". Manchester Evening News. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
24. "Volgt deze proefspeler via Helmond Sport het spoor van zijn bekende broer? 'Ik hoop dat het genoeg is'". 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
25. T. Fosu-Mensah at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
26. "Timothy Fosu-Mensah". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
27. "Player profile: Timothy Fosu-Mensah – Official Manchester United Website". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
28. "Ajax 0 Manchester United 2: Jose Mourinho's team make Manchester proud as they win the Europa League". telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 10 August 2017.

External links

• Profile at the Bayer 04 Leverkusen website
• Netherlands profile at OnsOranje
• Timothy Fosu-Mensah at Soccerbase
• Timothy Fosu-Mensah – UEFA competition record ( archive )