Ilhan Fandi

Early career

Ilhan embarked on his quest to become a professional footballer in Europe, by enrolling in an English school to study and train. The teenager left for England on 8 September 2017 to study at the Queen Ethelburga's College in York for the next two years. Ilhan trained with the i2i Football Academy, which has links to English football club Leeds United. The academy also has partnerships with both York College and York St John University and will assist in linking up players with English professional and semi-professional clubs.

Young Lions

After his studies, Ilhan returned to Singapore to signed with the Singapore Premier League club, Young Lions in 2019. He made his debut in a 1–1 draw against DPMM on 7 August 2019. He became the third son of Fandi Ahmad to lace up his boots for the Young Lions – following in the footsteps of his brothers Irfan Fandi and Ikhsan Fandi. Ilhan made his first professional start in a league game at the age of 16 years and 331 days, where he scored his first goal in a 1–4 loss against Albirex Niigata Singapore on 15 August 2019. Ilhan scored his third goal for the club in a heavy 4–1 defeat at the hands of Hougang United in the Young Lions' opening match of the 2020 Singapore Premier League season. As of April 2020, Ilhan has scored 3 goals in just 5 matches for the Young Lions. Ilhan scored the first goal of the Young Lions' 2021 Singapore Premier League season, helping his team to a 3–3 draw against Balestier…

Youth

Despite being only 17, Ilhan has been invited to train with the Singapore U22 squad. Ilhan received his first senior team training session in 2021. Ilhan played in an unofficial closed-door friendly against Afghanistan on 29 May 2021. Ilhan made his official international debut and started in the second-round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Palestine on 3 June 2021.

Senior

On 26 March 2022, his two brothers, Irfan and Ikhsan, were on the first team against Causeway rivals, Malaysia in a Tri-Nations Series friendly match. Ilhan came on as a substitute in the 71st minute, leading to the first time that the three Fandi brothers played in the same match for the national team together. Singapore won the match 2–1. On 17 December 2022, Ilhan scored his first international goal in a 3–1 win over Maldives in the friendly match before the start of the 2022 AFF Championship tournament, heading in from a Christopher van Huizen’s cross from the left for his first international goal on his fifth cap. He netted in back-to-back games for the Lions when he clinically headed in yet another Christopher van Huizen’s lovely floater for his second international goal in six caps, in a 3–2 win over Myanmar in the Lions' opening match of the 2022 AFF Championship. During a match against Vietnam on 30 December 2022, Ilhan suffered a anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) in his left knee and was slide-lined throughout most of 2023. On 2 October that year,…

Ilhan primarily plays as a forward, although he is capable of operating as a second striker or winger. Known for his physical presence, he combines strength with intelligent movement to lead the line effectively. He is recognised for his clinical finishing, possesses the ability to score from outside the penalty area with powerful strikes, displays confidence and effectiveness when using his weaker foot while also possessing the pace to exploit space behind opposing defences. Noted for his footwork, coordination and composure as cited by Singapore football legend, Noh Alam Shah. In the 2020 season, he was given the role as a false 9 as he "has really good technique and good reading of the game", pointed out by head coach Nazri Nasir.

Ilhan is the third son of Singaporean footballing legend Fandi Ahmad and South African model Wendy Jacobs. His brothers, Irfan and Ikhsan, are also footballers. Irfan is playing for Port while Ikhsan is playing for BG Pathum United, both in the Thai League 1. He has an older sister Iman, who is a singer, actress and model, and a younger brother Iryan who plays for Young Lions. His grandfather, Ahmad Wartam, was an ex-national goalkeeper. Hafiz Abu Sujad and the national team's physiotherapist Nurhafizah are the cousins of his father Fandi Ahmad.