| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ogochukwu Franklin Onyeka[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1998-01-01)1 January 1998 (age 27) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Benin City, Nigeria | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Brentford | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 15 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| –2013 | Faith Motors FC | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Ebedei | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Midtjylland | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2021 | Midtjylland | 95 | (14) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Brentford | 75 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | →FC Augsburg (loan) | 31 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020– | Nigeria | 36 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:21, 25 October 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 November 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
Ogochukwu Franklin OnyekaMON (born 1 January 1998) is a Nigerian professionalfootballer who plays as adefensive midfielder forPremier League clubBrentford and theNigeria national team.[3]
Onyeka was born on 1 January 1998 inBenin City,Edo State, Nigeria, the second oldest of five siblings. He has stated that his mother was not supportive of him playing football early on: "She wanted us to study, because the opportunity of becoming a football player at that point was slim. She would rather I went to school than play football."[4]
Aged 15, while playing for local club Faith Motors Academy, he was noticed byChurchill Oliseh, owner and manager ofFC Ebedei—a club with ties toMidtjylland in theDanish Superliga—and the man credited for discovering Nigerian internationalObafemi Martins.[4] Before joining FC Ebedei, Onyeka supported his family by doing roofing work. His move to Ebedei, located inSagamu,Ogun State, more than 250 kilometers from Benin City, was the first time he was away from home, and required significant adjustments. Despite the distance and his prior responsibilities, Onyeka remained committed to pursuing his dreams, something he later recognised as instrumental in developing a resilient mindset.[4]
After moving from Nigerian clubFC Ebedei to cooperation clubFC Midtjylland in Denmark in January 2016,[5] Onyeka established himself as part of the club, and on 20 September 2017 he made his first-team debut in theDanish Cup in a 7–0 win overGreve Fodbold where he also scored.[6] Onyeka went on to make hisDanish Superliga debut for the club a few months later in the club's2017–18 campaign in a match againstAC Horsens on 9 February 2018. There, he also scored, and was a key part in the 2–0 win.[6][7] Onyeka distinguished himself again in the next fixture, on 18 February, against the leading Superliga team fromFC Copenhagen, where he scored his second league goal for the club at theright winger position as Midtjylland beat the capital side 3–1.[8] He was subsequently praised by head coachJess Thorup for his positional versatility and maturity.[8]
Onyeka made hisUEFA Champions League debut in the following season, in Midtjylland's qualifier againstAstana FC on 24 July 2018.[9]
Onyeka signed for newly promotedPremier League sideBrentford on 20 July 2021 for an undisclosed fee.[10] He made his competitive debut for the club on 13 August, the first matchday of theseason, starting in a 2–0 victory againstArsenal; theBees' first ever Premier League win.[11]
During his first seasons at Brentford, he grappled with securing a regular spot in the first team, often sidelined by injuries, and primarily featuring as a substitute.[12] On 7 August 2023, he signed a new four-year contract, keeping him in west London until 2027.[13] He scored his first goal for the club on 13 April 2024, helping Brentford to a 2–0 league win overSheffield United to claim their first win in 10 consecutive Premier League games.[14]
On 30 August 2024, Onyeka signed forBundesliga clubFC Augsburg on a season-long loan.[15]
Onyeka received his first call-up for theNigeria national team on 22 September 2020 for the friendly matches againstAlgeria andTunisia inAustria on 5 and 9 October 2020, respectively.[16][17] He made his debut for the national team in a friendly 1–0 loss toAlgeria on 9 October 2020.[18] He scored his first goal for his country on 16 October 2023, in a 3–2 win overMozambique.[19]
Onyeka was a part of the Nigerian team that emerged runners-up at the2023 African Cup of Nations.[20] During the tournament, he started all seven of Nigeria's games.[21]
Onyeka was born and bred inBenin City. He is nicknamed "The Tank".[22]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Midtjylland | 2017–18[23] | Danish Superliga | 15 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 18 | 5 | ||
| 2018–19[24] | Danish Superliga | 21 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 5[c] | 0 | 29 | 4 | ||
| 2019–20[25] | Danish Superliga | 32 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 1 | 35 | 4 | ||
| 2020–21[26] | Danish Superliga | 27 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | 10[e] | 1 | 41 | 4 | ||
| Total | 95 | 14 | 11 | 1 | — | 17 | 2 | 123 | 17 | |||
| Brentford | 2021–22[27] | Premier League | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |
| 2022–23[28] | Premier League | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24[29] | Premier League | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25[30] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26[31] | Premier League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Total | 75 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | — | 87 | 1 | |||
| FC Augsburg (loan) | 2024–25[30] | Bundesliga | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 201 | 16 | 14 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 244 | 19 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 7 | 2 | |
| Total | 36 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 October 2023 | Estádio Municipal de Portimão,Portimão, Portugal |  Mozambique | 2–1 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 14 October 2025 | Godswill Akpabio International Stadium,Uyo, Nigeria |  Benin | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 16 November 2025 | Moulay Hassan Stadium,Rabat, Morocco |  DR Congo | 1–0 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Midtjylland
Nigeria
Orders
Member of theOrder of the Niger[35]Specielt det unge nigerianske talent Frank Onyeka, der scorede senest mod AC Horsens og igen mod FCK, bringer glæden frem hos FCM's cheftræner. - Frank har gjort det rigtig godt i opstarten. Han har prøvet at spille midterforsvarer, højreback og central midtbanespiller, men han er faktisk lidt mere en hængende angriber. Frank har gjort det virkelig godt, og det var kun et spørgsmål om tid, før at han skulle bringes ind. Han er jo en af de næste, der skal gribe de chancer, der kommer, for der er jo plads til nogle nye spillere.
Nigeria squads | |||||||||||||
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