| Kanga in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aka Wilfried Julien Kanga [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 21 February 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Montreuil, France | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) [2] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger, forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Gent | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2007 | FCM Garges-lès-Gonesse | ||
| 2007–2009 | FC Villepinte | ||
| 2009–2010 | Sevran FC | ||
| 2010–2016 | Paris Saint-Germain | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | Paris Saint-Germain | 0 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | → Créteil (loan) | 24 | (5) |
| 2017–2020 | Angers II | 8 | (8) |
| 2017–2020 | Angers | 33 | (2) |
| 2020–2021 | Kayserispor | 14 | (2) |
| 2021–2022 | Young Boys | 33 | (15) |
| 2022–2025 | Hertha BSC | 23 | (2) |
| 2023–2024 | → Standard Liège (loan) | 36 | (12) |
| 2024–2025 | → Cardiff City (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2025 | Dinamo Zagreb | 15 | (3) |
| 2025– | Gent | 12 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016 | Ivory Coast U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2018 | France U20 | 4 | (1) |
| 2022– | Ivory Coast | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 3 October 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17:32, 12 November 2022 (UTC) | |||
Aka Wilfried Julien Kanga (born 21 February 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Belgian Pro League side Gent. Born in France, he plays for the Ivory Coast national team.
Kanga is a youth product of PSG, and moved on loan to US Créteil-Lusitanos, after signing his first professional contract. [3] After his successful season in the Championnat National, Kanga was transferred to Angers in the Ligue 1. [4] He made his professional debut for Angers, in a Ligue 1 1–1 tie with Lille on 27 August 2017. [5]
On 30 July 2022, Kanga signed a four-year contract with Hertha BSC in Germany. [6]
On 7 August 2023, Kanga moved on a season-long loan to Standard Liège in Belgium. [7]
On 30 July 2024, Kanga joined Cardiff City on loan. [8]
Kanga was born in France and is Ivorian by descent, and represented the Ivory Coast U20s in a 3–2 friendly victory over the Qatar U20s in March 2016. [9] [10] [11]
Kanga switched and represented the France U20s at the 2018 Toulon Tournament. He scored on his debut against the South Korea U20s on 28 May 2018. [12]
Kanga switched back to represent the senior Ivory Coast national team in September 2022, and debuted with them in a friendly 2–1 win over Togo national team on 25 September 2022. [13]
| Club | Season | League | National cup [a] | League cup [b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Créteil (loan) | 2016–17 | Championnat National | 24 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 24 | 5 | ||||
| Angers | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 2 | |||
| 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 5 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 36 | 3 | ||||
| Kayserispor | 2020–21 | Süper Lig | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 15 | 3 | |||
| Young Boys | 2021–22 | Swiss Super League | 31 | 12 | 3 | 4 | — | 8 | 0 | — | 42 | 16 | ||
| 2022–23 | Swiss Super League | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 3 | |||
| Total | 33 | 15 | 3 | 4 | — | 9 | 0 | — | 45 | 19 | ||||
| Hertha BSC | 2022–23 | 1. Bundesliga | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 2 | |||
| Standard Liège (loan) | 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 31 | 12 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 12 | |||
| Cardiff City (loan) | 2024–25 | EFL Championship | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2024–25 | Croatian Football League | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 3 | ||
| Gent | 2025–26 | Belgian Pro League | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 3 | ||
| Total | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 3 | ||||
| Career total | 198 | 44 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 217 | 50 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivory Coast | 2022 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |