Lucas Eduardo dos Santos João (born 4 September 1993), known as Lucas João, is a 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 lea ...

who plays as a forward for Turkish club

Ümraniyespor Ümraniyespor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in Ümraniye, Istanbul. The club has played in red-and-white kits since its formation in 1938. Stadium Currently the team plays at the 3,513-capacity Ümraniye Belediyesi � ...

and the Angola national team. After starting out at

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

, he went on to spend the vast majority of his career in the English

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 sys ...

, with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. Lucas João made his full debut for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in 2015, before changing his allegiance to

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

in 2022.

Club career

Nacional

Born in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

of Angolan descent, Lucas João started playing football with amateurs Beira Mar Atlético Clube Almada. In 2011 he signed with

, where he spent his last year as a junior. Lucas João made his senior debut with lowly

Mirandela Mirandela (), officially the City of Mirandela (), is a city and a municipality in northeastern Portugal. The city itself is contained by the Mirandela parish, which had a population of 11,397. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 21,38 ...

, on loan. He returned to the

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

ns for the 2013–14 season, making his

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

debut on 15 September 2013 against Arouca after coming on as a 78th-minute substitute, in a 0–1 home loss. Lucas João scored his first goal(s) in the top flight on 11 January 2015, his brace helping to defeat Boavista 2–1 at home. He netted a further six – seven overall – during the campaign, as his team finished in seventh position.

Sheffield Wednesday

On 31 July 2015, Lucas João joined former teammate Marco Matias at English club

, agreeing to a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut in the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

on 8 August, replacing Atdhe Nuhiu for the last 13 minutes of a 2–0 win against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. He scored his first goal three days later, in a 4–1 victory over

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

in the League Cup, also at Hillsborough. Lucas João was one of three players on target on 27 October 2015 as Wednesday defeated

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

3–0 at home to reach the fifth round of the League Cup. On 30 January 2017, he moved to fellow second-tier team

on loan until the end of the season.

Reading

Lucas João joined

on 6 August 2019, on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee three days after scoring against them at the service of Sheffield Wednesday. The first goal for his new club came on his second Championship appearance, but in a 2–1 away loss to

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

. On 5 September 2020, Lucas João scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 3–1 win against

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

in the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

. He ended the league season as the fifth highest goalscorer with 19, as the Royals missed the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

by one place. On 17 May 2023, after refusing to travel with the squad for their last away fixture of the campaign after relegation was confirmed, Reading announced that Lucas João would leave the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (), currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in EFL League One. It also provides the ...

at the end of his contract.

Later career

Lucas João signed for

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

club Shanghai Port on 28 July 2023. In February 2024, having been crowned champion, he moved to the

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League (; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation wi ...

with

Umm Salal Umm Salal (; also spelled Umm Slal) is a municipalities of Qatar, municipality in the State of Qatar. Historic landmarks such as the Barzan Tower are located in Umm Salal.The municipal headquarters is located in Umm Salal Ali, about 10 km ...

on a short-term contract. On 9 September 2024, Lucas João joined

Persian Gulf Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Premier League (, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is a professional association football league in Iran and the highest level of the Iranian football league s ...

champions

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

on a one-year deal.

International career

Portugal

Lucas João won five

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for

at youth level, including three for the under-21s. He was first called up to the full side on 6 November 2015, with manager Fernando Santos picking him ahead of friendlies against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. He made his debut in the former match, featuring 18 minutes in the 1–0 loss in

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

Angola

In March 2022, Lucas João was selected by

for friendlies with

Guinea Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to its north and Guinea to its southeast. Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kin ...

and

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

to be held later that month.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Angola's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lucas João goal.''

Honours

Shanghai Port *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Individual * EFL Championship Player of the Month: February 2022

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joao, Lucas 1993 births Living people Portuguese sportspeople of Angolan descent 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen 21st-century Angolan sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Angolan men's footballers Footballers from Lisbon Men's association football forwards Primeira Liga players Segunda Divisão players C.D. Nacional players SC Mirandela players English Football League players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Reading F.C. players Chinese Super League players Shanghai Port F.C. players Qatar Stars League players Umm Salal SC players Persian Gulf Pro League players Persepolis F.C. players TFF 1. Lig players Ümraniyespor footballers Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's international footballers Angola men's international footballers Dual internationalists (men's football) Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Angolan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in China Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Iran Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Angolan expatriate sportspeople in England Angolan expatriate sportspeople in China Angolan expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Angolan expatriate sportspeople in Iran Angolan expatriate sportspeople in Turkey