Memeh Caleb Okoli (born 13 July 2001) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Leicester City.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Memeh Caleb Okoli[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 13 July 2001[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Vicenza, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Leicester City | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2015–2016 | Vicenza | ||
| 2016–2020 | Atalanta | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2024 | Atalanta | 17 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → SPAL (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | → Cremonese (loan) | 27 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Frosinone (loan) | 34 | (0) |
| 2024– | Leicester City | 5 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2019–2020 | Italy U19 | 10 | (0) |
| 2021 | Italy U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2021–2023 | Italy U21 | 14 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:58, 8 October 2024 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editOkoli joined the youth teams of Atalanta in the summer of 2015 and started playing for their Under-19 squad in the 2018–19 season.[3] He was occasionally called up to Atalanta's senior team in that season and the next, but never appeared on the field. He also represented the club in the 2019–20 UEFA Youth League.
On 25 September 2020, he joined Serie B club SPAL on loan.[4]
He made his Serie B debut for SPAL on 21 November 2020 in a game against Pescara. He started and played the full game in a 2–0 victory.[5]
On 12 July 2021, he joined Serie B club Cremonese on a season-long loan.[6]
Okoli returned to Atalanta in July 2022, after his loan ended, and was integrated into Atalanta's first team for the following season. He made his Serie A debut with Atalanta on 13 August 2022 in a 2–0 victory over Sampdoria.[7]
On 1 September 2023, Okoli moved to newly promoted Serie A club Frosinone on a season-long loan.[8]
Leicester City
editOn 9 July 2024, Okoli signed for newly promoted Premier League club Leicester City on a five-year deal.[9]
International career
editBorn in Italy to parents of Nigerian origin, Okoli is Igbo and Yoruba by descent.[10] He was first called up to represent Italy in 2019 with the Italy U19 side.[11]
He made his debut with the Italy U21 team on 7 September 2021, playing as a starter in the qualifying match won 1–0 against Montenegro.[12] He was called up to the senior Italy squad for 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against France and Israel on 6 and 9 September 2024, respectively.[13]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played 5 October 2024[14]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Atalanta | 2020–21 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | Serie A | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | ||||
| 2023–24 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||||
| SPAL (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie B | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 1 | |||
| Cremonese (loan) | 2021–22 | Serie B | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 | |||
| Frosinone (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 0 | |||
| Leicester City | 2024–25 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 99 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 1 | |||
References
edit- ^ "2024/25 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Caleb Okoli: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ Caleb Okoli at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)
- ^ "OKOLI DALL'ATALANTA E RANIERI DALLA FIORENTINA IN PRESTITO ALLA SPAL" [Okoli from Atalanta and Ranieri from Fiorentina on loan at SPAL] (in Italian). SPAL. 25 September 2020. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "SPAL v Pescara game report". Soccerway. 21 November 2020.
- ^ "OKOLI NUOVO CALCIATORE GRIGIOROSSO" (in Italian). Cremonese. 12 July 2021. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ "Okoli festeggia il debutto in A con l'Atalanta: "La prima non si scorda"". alfredopedulla.com (in Italian). 14 August 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ^ "Caleb Okoli joins Frosinone". Atalanta BC. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Defender Caleb Okoli Signs From Atalanta". www.lcfc.com. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "Atalanta's Okoli Could Spark International Tug-Of-War Between Nigeria And Italy:: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com.
- ^ "Okoli Italy U19 profile" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Italy 1–0 Montenegro". uefa.com. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Okoli In Line For Italy Debut In Upcoming Internationals". lcfc.com. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
- ^ Caleb Okoli at Soccerway
External links
edit- Profile at the Atalanta B.C. website
- Caleb Okoli at Soccerway