Kelvin Etuhu

Manchester City

Etuhu started his football career at AFC Lewisham and Millwall but he left both clubs at some point before his family moved to Manchester. Upon settling at Manchester, Etuhu joined Manchester City’s academy in 2002, the same year when his older brother, Dickson Etuhu left Manchester City for Preston North End. While progressing through the Manchester City’s academy, Etuhu said Dickson gave him guidance and advice. He made an impact for the Manchester City’s academy in the FA Youth Cup by scoring goals against West Ham United, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Newcastle United, to reach the 2005–06 season’s FA Youth Cup final. Etuhu played in both legs of the FA Youth Cup finals against Liverpool, where the club’s academy loss 3–2 on aggregate. Following this, he signed his first professional contract with Manchester City. Etuhu was also named as "the most promising player" at the club’s award ceremony. After six months absent with a knee injury, Etuhu was called up to the first team by manager Sven-Göran Eriksson in the 2007–08 season. On 25 September 2007, he made his first appearance for the Manchester City’s first team, coming on as a substitute and set up the winning goal for Georgios Samaras, in a 1–0 win against Norwich City in the League Cup. On 1 December 2007, he made his Premier League debut, coming on as a 69th minute substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Wigan Athletic. On 15 December 2007, Etuhu scored his first goal for the club, in a…

Although not capped at international level, Etuhu was eligible to play for England or Nigeria. He said his intention was to play for England. He had previously represented England at junior levels while at Manchester City. In May 2009, he declared his intention to pursue an international career with Nigeria.

Club

Born in Kano, Nigeria, Etuhu moved to England a young age and grew up in Peckham, South London. he attended Saint Thomas the Apostle boys school before his family moved up to Manchester. Growing up with four brothers, Kelvin said he and Dickson were "the athletes in the family" and considered his older brother as an inspiration to motivate him to become a footballer. On 13 July 2010, Etuhu was arrested on charges relating to an assault outside a Manchester casino in February. Three people were injured, he was charged with assault and appeared before the magistrates on 6 August 2010. He was given an eight-month jail sentence on 24 March 2011, after which Manchester City released him from his contract. In August 2011, he was released from prison, having served five months to his jail sentence. He later said "I made a mistake, people make mistakes, but I learned the hard way. Harder than maybe I should have learned but I am positive nothing like that will happen again. Today I would react a lot differently to what I did then. I have learned, I have definitely learned." In March 2019, Etuhu became a father when his partner gave birth to a baby boy, causing him to miss two matches. In October 2020, he took part in helping the development of 250 young players across the borough at R-Kikx Academy. Following the end of his professional career, Etuhu moved onto a business career, as well as, taking up electrical engineering course.