Uche Ikpeazu

Reading and Watford

Ikpeazu was born in Harrow, London to an Igbo Nigerian father and a Ugandan mother. Ikpeazu joined Reading's academy in late 2010. He signed for Southern League Division One South & West club Didcot Town on loan in November 2011 and scored twice in three games, including the 3–1 FA Trophy win against Conference Premier team Bromley. In the 2012–13 season, his final for the under-18s, he scored 28 goals in as many games, finishing as the top scorer in the country at academy level. Reading offered him a professional contract. However, he turned it down and instead signed a three-year contract with fellow Championship club Watford in July 2013. Due to his age, Watford were required to pay compensation which, after six months of negotiations, was agreed in January 2014 with the fee remaining undisclosed. The same month, having yet to make his first-team debut for Watford, Ikpeazu joined League One club Crewe Alexandra on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut at Gresty Road as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Leyton Orient on 18 January, and scored his first goals in professional football with two goals against Bradford City three weeks later. Ikpeazu returned to Crewe on 26 November 2014, on a loan deal until 25 January 2015. Two days later he scored in a 1–1 home draw with Doncaster Rovers. After the loan deal ended he joined Doncaster Rovers on loan. He was reported to have been viewed as a possible permanent signing by…

Ikpeazu was called up to the Uganda squad by head coach Johnathan McKinstry for two 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches in March 2020, but the games were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda. McKinstry's successor, Milutin Sredojević, attempted to call him up in April 2022 but Ikpeazu wanted to stay in Wales and try and fight for his place in the Cardiff City team. He was called up again in May 2024 and September 2025. Ikpeazu made his full international debut on 5 September 2025, appearing as a substitute in a 4–0 win against Mozambique. He was named on the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations squadlist. He scored the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw with Tanzania, which gave Uganda hope of qualification out of the group with victory over Nigeria in their final match. However, Uganda lost to Nigeria and finished bottom of the group.

Ikpeazu is an athletic 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) forward who possesses pace and power but sometimes struggles with ball control. He has said that "my strength is my strength and I have to use that but I have other aspects to my game".

Club

As of match played 4 April 2026

International

As of match played 27 December 2025

As of match played 27 December 2025 Scores and results list Uganda's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ikpeazu goal.