Sheyi Ojo
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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 ...
who plays as a winger for EFL Championship club Cardiff City. Ojo joined Liverpool as a 14-year-old and came through their
academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
. He spent time on loan with
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
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 and under-21 levels.


Club career


Early career

Ojo joined MK Dons' 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 Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
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.


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, 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 Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
. 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 Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
. 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 Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...
tie against
Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
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 Fo ...
debut on 20 March 2016, replacing Joe Allen 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 St Mary's Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Southampton, England, which has been the home stadium of Premier League club Southampton F.C. since 2001. The stadium has a capacity of 32,384 and is currently the largest football stadium ...
. Three weeks later, he made his first start for Liverpool in the Premier League against Stoke City 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 189 ...
, where he assisted
Daniel Sturridge Daniel Andre Sturridge (; born 1 September 1989) is an English professional footballer who last played as a striker. As well as representing England, he has played in the Premier League for Manchester City, Chelsea, Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool ...
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 on season-long loan. He scored a double in a 5–4 win over
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
, on 21 November. He scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win over
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, 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. Sin ...
, on 9 December. On 23 December, Ojo received a yellow card and scored in a 2–1 win over Barnsley.


Loan to Stade de Reims

On 30 August 2018, Ojo signed a new contract with Liverpool and joined Stade de Reims 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 Scottis ...
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 fin ...
, and scored the second goal. He scored 4 goals for Rangers in Europe.


Loan to Cardiff City

Ojo joined
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
club Cardiff City 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 on 18 October.


Loan to Millwall

On 31 August 2021 he went out on his seventh loan move, this time joining
Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...
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 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 ...
. 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 in the 62nd minute. England beat Venezuela 1–0, which is England's first win in a global tournament since their
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
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 new ...
, England, his name "Babajide" is a variant form of the Yoruba name: Babatunde, 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 The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...
:
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 s ...


References


External links


Profile
at the Cardiff City F.C. website
England profile
at
The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
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