Lukas Okechukwu Nmecha (born 14 December 1998) is a German professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

club VfL Wolfsburg and the Germany national team. Nmecha was born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany but relocated to England as a child with his family. He represented his birth country for the first time with the Germany U21 national team, despite being capped by

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at the same level.

Club career

Manchester City

During a football tournament at his primary school team in

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is a district of the city of Manchester, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Cheshire, Wythenshawe was transferred in 1931 to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the ...

, he was scouted by Manchester City, where he played for their youth ranks for over a decade, before making his debut on 19 December 2017 in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

. On his debut he scored the third penalty for Manchester City in their penalty shootout win over Leicester City. He made his Premier League debut on 29 April 2018, as a late substitute for

Gabriel Jesus Gabriel Fernando de Jesus (born 3 April 1997) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Arsenal and the Brazil national team. Jesus began his senior club career at Palmeiras, where he was voted Best Newcomer at ...

against West Ham United at the London Stadium. He was involved in several games during Manchester City's first team squad for the 2018–19 pre season tour in the U.S. to compete in the

2018 International Champions Cup The 2018 International Champions Cup (or ICC) was the sixth edition of a tournament comprising a series of friendly association football matches. It began on July 20 and ended on August 11. The tournament was won by English club Tottenham Hotspur. ...

. He scored his first goal at first team level on 29 July 2018 in the pre season friendly against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

in a 3–2 win.

Preston North End (loan)

Nmecha was loaned to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

for the 2018–19 season.

VfL Wolfsburg (loan)

On 3 August 2019, Nmecha joined

club VfL Wolfsburg on a season-long loan.

Middlesbrough (loan)

Nmecha's loan was ended on 3 January 2020 and he joined

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

on loan. His loan expired on 31 July 2020.

Anderlecht (loan)

On 21 August 2020, Nmecha joined former teammate Vincent Kompany's team

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

on loan. On 13 September 2020, he scored his first goal with Anderlecht in a 2–0 win over

Cercle Brugge Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. Cercle have played in the Belgian Pro League since the 2003–04 season, having previously spent several years in the Belgian Second Divisio ...

. On 19 September, he scored a brace in a 4–2 win over Waasland-Beveren. He ended the 2020–21 season scoring 18 goals in 37 matches.

Return to Wolfsburg

Nmecha re-joined VFL Wolfsburg in a permanent deal on 16 July 2021. He scored the winning goal on his

debut for the club, in a come-from-behind 2–1 victory over Hertha Berlin on 21 August.

International career

Born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

to a German mother and a Nigerian father, but raised in England, Nmecha was eligible to play for

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

England

In October 2014, Nmecha scored for the England Under-17 team in a qualifier against Macedonia. Nmecha was included in the England under-19 squad for the

2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-19 Euro 2017) was the 16th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship (66th edition if the Under-18 and Junior eras are included), the annual international youth footbal ...

. He scored the only goal of the game in the semi-final against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and also scored the winner in the final against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. On 18 May 2018, Nmecha received a call up to the England U21 team by Manager Aidy Boothroyd, for the Toulon Tournament. On 9 June 2018, Nmecha came on as a substitute in the

2018 Toulon Tournament The 2018 Toulon Tournament (officially french: 46ème Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) was the 46th edition of the Toulon Tournament. It was held in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône from 26 May to 9 June 2018. Engl ...

final as England defeated

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

to retain the title. In November 2018, Nmecha scored for the England Under-20 team against

Germany

In March 2019, Nmecha declared for Germany and was included in their U21 squad for the first time. He made his debut as a 59th minute substitute during the 2–1 victory over

at Bournemouth on 26 March 2019. On 6 June 2021, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over

in the

2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final The 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final was a football match that took place on 6 June 2021 at the Stožice Stadium in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to determine the winners of the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. The match was conteste ...

, and finished the competition as top scorer with four goals. He made his debut for the senior national team on 11 November 2021 in a

World Cup qualifier The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

against

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

Personal life

Nmecha is the older brother of fellow player Felix Nmecha and Sarah Nmecha. He is of Igbo Nigerian descent. They were born in Germany before moving to England at a young age.

Style of play

Nmecha's main position is as a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, but he is also able to play as a winger on either side. He is known for being comfortable with both feet and for his first touch and finishing ability. Nmecha described that he also likes to use his pace to run at defenders.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

England U19 * UEFA European Under-19 Championship:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

England U21 * Toulon Tournament:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Germany U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Individual *UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of The Tournament:

References

External links

Profile
at the VfL Wolfsburg website *
England profile
at

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nmecha, Lukas 1998 births Living people Footballers from Hamburg German footballers Germany under-21 international footballers Germany international footballers English footballers England youth international footballers England under-21 international footballers Association football forwards German sportspeople of Nigerian descent English people of Nigerian descent German emigrants to England Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Manchester City F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players VfL Wolfsburg players Middlesbrough F.C. players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Premier League players Bundesliga players English Football League players Belgian Pro League players German expatriate footballers English expatriate footballers German expatriate sportspeople in Belgium English expatriates in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Belgium English people of German descent