Eddie Nketiah

Early career

Nketiah started his career with Chelsea after being scouted at the age of nine while playing for south-east London Sunday team Hillyfielders. He was released by Chelsea in 2015.

Arsenal

Nketiah joined the Arsenal Academy after leaving Chelsea and played for the club at youth levels. During the 2016–17 season, Nketiah scored 15 goals in 16 appearances for the under-18 team while also scoring 12 goals in 26 appearances for the under-23s. After that season, Nketiah was called up by Arsène Wenger for the first team's pre-season trip to Australia and China. On 28 September 2017, Nketiah was called up to the first team for Arsenal's UEFA Europa League match against BATE Borisov. He came on as an 89th-minute substitute for Joe Willock as Arsenal won 4–2. His next appearance came nearly a month later against Norwich City in the EFL Cup as an 85th-minute substitute. He scored after 15 seconds with his first touch to tie the match, adding another in extra time to win it for Arsenal. Nketiah was set for a loan move to Bundesliga club FC Augsburg in January 2019 transfer window, but due to an injury to Danny Welbeck, Nketiah stayed at Arsenal. Nketiah scored his first goal in the Premier League on the last day of the season away to Burnley on 12 May 2019. He was an unused substitute in the UEFA Europa League final 4–1 defeat against Chelsea on 29 May, receiving a runners-up medal.

Loan to Leeds United

On 8 August 2019, Nketiah joined…

Nketiah is eligible for both England and Ghana at international level. He made his international debut for England at under-19 level, playing a match against Saudi Arabia on 22 March 2017, in which he scored the second goal for England in the 58th minute as they won 2–0. In his next match, against Qatar, Nketiah scored three goals as England won 4–0. In November 2017, Nketiah scored four goals for the England under-19 team in a qualifier for the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship against the Faroe Islands. He was one of a number of players withdrawn from selection for the tournament by their club. Nketiah received his first call up to the England under-21 team for the 2018 Toulon Tournament. He scored twice in the semi-final against Scotland and provided the assist for Kieran Dowell to score the winning goal against Mexico in the final. In January 2019, Nketiah reportedly turned down a call up from the Ghana national team, favouring England. In September 2020, he captained England under-21s for the first time and scored a hat-trick during a 6–0 victory over Kosovo. On 7 October 2020, Nketiah equalled Alan Shearer's goalscoring record of 13 for the under-21s by scoring in a 3–3 draw against Andorra. Nketiah went on to break that record with the second goal of a 2–1 win over Turkey at Molineux Stadium on 13 October 2020; a victory that secured England's place at the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Nketiah was ultimately named as England captain for that…

Nketiah is known for his pace and movement, his style has been compared to former Arsenal and Crystal Palace striker Ian Wright. In August 2019 he described Wright as his "mentor". His playing style was also compared to Jermain Defoe, due to his movement to play off the last defender's shoulder and his sharp shooting ability from all angles. Nketiah can play as a striker or as a wide forward, with Nketiah describing his own playing style as "I'm a striker, I'm brave, I like to put myself in the places where the chances are going to fall."

Edward Keddar Nketiah was born on 30 May 1999 in Lewisham, Greater London, to Ghanaian parents and was raised in Deptford.