Oluwaseyi Babajide "Sheyi" Ojo (born 19 June 1997) is an English 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
winger for
EFL Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...
club
Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
.
Ojo joined Liverpool as a 14-year-old and came through their
academy. He spent time on loan with
Championship clubs
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
and
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
before making his competitive debut for Liverpool in January 2016.
Ojo has represented England at
under-16,
under-17,
under-18,
under-19,
under-20
Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...
and
under-21 levels.
Club career
Early career
Ojo joined
MK Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
' academy when he was 10 years old. By the age of 13, he had played for the Dons' U18 side and was training with the first team squad.
During his time at the club, Ojo became the first MK Dons trainee to receive an international cap at youth level.
Liverpool
On 11 November 2011, Liverpool beat off competition from a host of Europe's top clubs including a multimillion-pound offer from
Chelsea to sign Ojo, then 14, for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £2 million.
In April 2014, Ojo was joint top scorer alongside fellow Liverpool player
Harry Wilson in the prestigious U17
Future Cup
The Future Cup (officially known as the ABN AMRO Future Cup, and previously known as the AEGON Future Cup) is an annual friendly international youth tournament which is organized by the Dutch football club AFC Ajax. The tournament is created fo ...
.
Loan to Wigan
Having made a number of appearances on Liverpool's bench over the festive period, Ojo joined
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
on loan on 2 February 2015. Five days later, he made his professional debut coming on as a 59th-minute substitute for Wigan in a Championship match against
AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...
, with Wigan naming Ojo as their Man of the Match after he had a positive impact on the game.
Loan to Wolverhampton
On 2 August 2015, Ojo scored the winning goal for Liverpool in a friendly against
Swindon Town. In 4 August 2015, Liverpool announced that Ojo had signed a new long-term contract with the club and confirmed that he would join
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
on a season-long loan. He made his Wolves debut on the opening day of the 2015–16 Championship season as a substitute, coming on in the 84th minute and picking up a yellow card as his side went on to beat
Blackburn Rovers. Three days later, he made his first start for Wolves in a 2–1 League Cup win over
Newport County, assisting
Nouha Dicko
Nouha Dicko (born 14 May 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Super League Greece club OFI. Born in France, he represented Mali national team at international level.
Early life
Dicko was born in Saint-Maurice, Val-de- ...
for Wolves' opening goal.
Return to Liverpool
He was recalled by Liverpool on 7 January 2016. The next day, Ojo made his competitive first-team debut for Liverpool, as a substitute in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
Third Round tie against
Exeter City that ended in a 2–2 draw. He scored his first competitive goal for Liverpool in the replay against Exeter on 20 January; his goal was the second in a 3–0 victory.
Ojo made his
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
debut on 20 March 2016, replacing
Joe Allen
Joseph Michael Allen (born 14 March 1990) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Swansea City.
Allen began his career at Swansea City, making his first-team debut in January 2007 at age 16. He ...
in the 87th minute in a 3–2 loss away to
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
at
St Mary's Stadium. Three weeks later, he made his first start for Liverpool in the Premier League against
Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
, where he assisted
Daniel Sturridge for Liverpool's second goal in a 4–1 win, before being replaced by
Divock Origi
Divock Okoth Origi (born 18 April 1995) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club AC Milan and the Belgium national team.
Origi began his career at Lille, and scored on his professional debut for them in 2013. A ...
.
Ahead of the 2016–17 season, Ojo sustained a fracture in his back and did not return to first team training until mid-November.
Loan to Fulham
On 16 August 2017, Ojo joined
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
on season-long loan. He scored a double in a 5–4 win over
Sheffield United, on 21 November. He scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win over
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
, on 9 December. On 23 December, Ojo received a yellow card and scored in a 2–1 win over
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
.
Loan to Stade de Reims
On 30 August 2018, Ojo signed a new contract with Liverpool and joined
Stade de Reims
Stade de Reims () is a French professional association football, football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1910 and plays in Ligue 1, the top level of Football in France, having been promoted from Ligue 2 in 2017–18 Ligue 2, 2018. ...
on a season-long loan. He also played for Reims II.
Loan to Rangers
On 18 June 2019, Rangers of the
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...
announced they signed Ojo on a season-long loan, a day before his 22nd birthday. He made his competitive debut for the club on 9 July 2019 in a 4–0 win over
St Joseph's of Gibraltar in the
2019–20 UEFA Europa League
The 2019–20 UEFA Europa League was the 49th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 11th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
Sevilla defeated Inter Milan in the fina ...
, and scored the second goal. He scored 4 goals for Rangers in Europe.
Loan to Cardiff City
Ojo joined
Championship club
Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
on 7 September 2020 for the 2020–21 season. He scored his first goal for Cardiff in a 1-0 win over
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 ...
on 18 October.
Loan to Millwall
On 31 August 2021 he went out on his seventh loan move, this time joining
Millwall until 30 June 2022.
In June 2022 it was announced by Liverpool that he would leave the club at the end of the month when his contract expired.
Cardiff City
On 13 July 2022, Ojo returned to Cardiff City on a permanent basis, signing a two-year contract.
International career
As Ojo was born in England, he is eligible to represent
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 ...
and through his
Nigerian
Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...
heritage is also 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 ...
in international football. Ojo has represented England at
under-16,
under-17,
under-18,
under-19,
under-20
Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...
and
under-21 levels. In his early teens, Ojo often played at a higher age group at international level, representing England U17s at the St George's Park Tournament in 2012 aged 15. Ojo represented England U17s in the 2014 Algarve Tournament, with England coming second to Germany after a 1–0 loss in the final game.
In September 2014, Ojo received his first
England U18 call-up for a double header against the Netherlands. Ojo appeared in both games with England winning by an aggregate score of 7–2. On 27 August 2015, Ojo received his first call-up to the
England U19 team and played 90 minutes in a 3–2 away win over
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 ...
. Later in the same tournament, he started against France and helped ''The Young Lions'' secure a 2–1 win by providing 2 assists.
Ojo was selected for the
England under-20 team in the
2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 21st edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 as ...
. Ojo made his start in tournament in the match against Guinea, and was a substitute in a few other games, including the semi-final match against Italy in which he assisted in two of the goals. In the final, Ojo came on as a substitute for
Kieran Dowell
Kieran O'Neill Dowell (born 10 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Rangers.
Dowell previously played for Everton, where he had loan spells with Nottingham Forest, Sheffiel ...
in the 62nd minute. England beat Venezuela 1–0, which is England's first win in a global tournament since their
World Cup victory of 1966.
In September 2018, he stated he could represent
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 ...
in future.
Personal life
Born in
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500.
Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...
, England, his name "Babajide" is a variant form of the
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
name:
Babatunde
Babatunde (variant forms: Babatunji, Babajide, Babawande, Babaside, Babatide, Bababode, Babs) is a male given name. In the Yoruba language, it means 'father returns', or ' a father has returned'. This generally refers to a male ancestor such as a ...
, meaning "Father has Returned" or "Father Comes Back to Life". During his time with the Liverpool Football Academy, Ojo was a student at
Rainhill Media Arts College, in
Rainhill
Rainhill is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 10,853.
Historically part of Lancashire, Rainhill was formerly a townsh ...
, England.
Career statistics
Honours
England U20
*
FIFA U-20 World Cup:
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 ...
References
External links
Profileat the Cardiff City F.C. website
England profileat
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 ...
website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ojo, Sheyi
1997 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Hemel Hempstead
English footballers
England youth international footballers
England under-21 international footballers
English expatriate footballers
Association football forwards
Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players
Liverpool F.C. players
Wigan Athletic F.C. players
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
Fulham F.C. players
Rangers F.C. players
Stade de Reims players
Cardiff City F.C. players
Millwall F.C. players
English Football League players
Premier League players
Ligue 1 players
Championnat National 2 players
Scottish Professional Football League players
Black British sportsmen
English sportspeople of Nigerian descent
English people of Yoruba descent
Yoruba sportspeople
Expatriate footballers in France