 Assombalonga withNottingham Forest in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Britt Curtis Assombalonga[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-12-06)6 December 1992 (age 32)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Kinshasa,Zaire | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Barnet | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2011 | Watford | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2013 | Watford | 4 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | →Wealdstone (loan) | 11 | (6) |
| 2012 | →Braintree Town (loan) | 5 | (5) |
| 2012–2013 | →Southend United (loan) | 43 | (15) |
| 2013–2014 | Peterborough United | 43 | (23) |
| 2014–2017 | Nottingham Forest | 65 | (30) |
| 2017–2021 | Middlesbrough | 152 | (45) |
| 2021–2023 | Adana Demirspor | 49 | (12) |
| 2023 | Watford | 11 | (2) |
| 2023–2024 | Antalyaspor | 22 | (2) |
| 2024–2025 | Amedspor | 18 | (3) |
| 2025– | Barnet | 1 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018–2021 | DR Congo | 10 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 8 February 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15:44, 2 October 2025 (UTC) | |||
Britt Curtis Assombalonga (born 6 December 1992) is a Congolese professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forBarnet and theDR Congo national football team. He has played in theFootball League forWatford,Southend United,Peterborough United,Nottingham Forest andMiddlesbrough.
Assambalonga was born inKinshasa,Zaire, and moved toLondon, England, with his family at eight months old.[2][4] He grew up inSwiss Cottage, in the London borough of Camden, and attendedWhitefield School. He is the son ofFedor Assombalonga, a formerZaire international footballer.[4] His brother, Christian, is also a footballer who plays in the Englishnon-League football system at Bourne Town Football Club[5]
Assombalonga began his career withWatford, signing as a 17-year-old youth player in 2010 after making his way through via the Hertswood Impact Scheme. In his first full season in the youth team, he finished as the second top goal scorer while his team made it to theFA Youth Cup quarter-finals.
He also appeared regularly for Watford's reserve team, and was rewarded for his performances with a one-year professional contract at the end of the season. He was an unused substitute for the senior squad's last two games againstPreston North End andQueens Park Rangers.[6]
In November 2011, Assombalonga joinedWealdstone alongside youth teammateConnor Smith to gain more playing experience.[7] On 3 December, he scored his first goal in a league match againstConcord Rangers. Assombalonga had his loan spell extended for another month on 4 January 2012.[8] Assombalonga returned to Watford on 4 February, having scored 11 goals in 16 games for Wealdstone.
Just days after his return to Watford, Assombalonga was loaned toBraintree Town on a one-month deal. Despite being heavily linked with a permanent move to Scottish clubPeterhead, he also signed a one-year contract extension with Watford on the same day.[9] Assombalonga made an eventful debut in a 3–3 draw againstLincoln City; he scored his first goal for the club to put Braintree 3–2 up before being sent off for a second bookable offence.[10] He scored four more goals in four games for Braintree after serving his one-match suspension, and was subsequently recalled by Watford to join their senior squad.[11]
On 17 March 2012, he made his first-team debut in a 0–0 draw withCoventry City. His appearance made him the 50th player to go through Watford's academy and represent the first-team.[12]
At the start of the 2012–13 season, Assombalonga joinedLeague Two clubSouthend United on an initial one-month loan.[13] On 25 August 2012, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–3 draw againstNorthampton Town. Assombalonga went on to score five goals in four matches, including a brace in a 3–1 win againstDagenham & Redbridge on 7 September.[14]
At the end of the month, Southend extended the loan deal to run until 3 January 2013.[15] Having established himself in the first team, Assombalonga became the club's top scorer that season with a total of 15 goals.[16] Southend again extended Assombalonga's loan in December 2012, keeping him at the club until the end of the season.[17] He played in the2013 League Trophy Final againstCrewe Alexandra which Southend lost 2–0.[18]
On 31 July 2013,League One sidePeterborough United broke their previous transfer record to sign Assombalonga from Watford on a four-year deal.[19] The fee was undisclosed, but was confirmed as greatly exceeding the club's previous £1.1 million record fee. He was given the number nine shirt. Peterborough chairmanDarragh MacAnthony hailed the deal, saying he was "delighted", and that Assombalonga had been Peterborough's main transfer target.[20] On the opening game of the season, he scored on his debut as Peterborough defeatedSwindon Town 1–0.[21] He scored a penalty in a 3–1 win over Chesterfield at Wembley in the2014 Football League Trophy Final.
On 6 August 2014, Assombalonga joinedNottingham Forest on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee reported to be in the region of £5 million, potentially rising to £8 million based on various clauses (of which Watford will receive 50% due to sell-on clauses).[22][23][24] This made Assombalonga Forest's record signing, surpassing the £4.5 million fee paid toCeltic for strikerPierre van Hooijdonk in 1997.[25] Assombalonga scored his first goals for Forest twelve days after signing, netting a brace againstBolton Wanderers at theMacron Stadium.[26] He then scored a goal each in their next two games, againstBournemouth andReading respectively. Assombalonga scored in his first East Midlands Derby, opening the scoring againstDerby County at theCity Ground.[27][28] Assombalonga's goal-scoring run continued with his first hat-trick for Forest on 17 September in a 5–3 home victory againstFulham.[29] He then went on to score in the reverse fixture againstDerby, equalising atPride Park as Forest secured a 2–1 win to relieve the pressure on their beleaguered managerStuart Pearce. On 11 February 2015, Assombalonga sustained a serious knee injury during a 3–0 victory overWigan Athletic after taking a shot at goal that prematurely ended his season.[30] Assombalonga eventually made his return from injury on 19 April 2016 as an 84th-minute substitute forRobert Tesche in a draw againstBlackburn Rovers.[31] On 7 May Assombalonga scored the winner away atMK Dons, his first senior goal since his injury.[32]
On the opening day of the2016–17 season, Assombalonga started the first competitive match under new managerPhilippe Montanier and scored a brace at home against newly promotedBurton Albion.[33] The striker then reaffirmed his commitment to Forest by signing a new five-year contract on 2 September, tying him to the club until 2021.[34] On 19 November, Assombalonga scored a brace againstIpswich Town, his first coming after only 17 seconds, which took his tally to six goals in eight games for the season. After the game, Assombalonga was described as the "best goalscorer in the league" by teammateBen Osborn and "the best in the business outside of the Premier League" by former Forest defenderKenny Burns.[35][36] Assombalonga missed Forest's next game – a 5–2 win atBarnsley – with a hamstring problem to continue his injury-hit start to the season.[37] Assombalonga ended the season on a high, scoring his second brace against Ipswich Town on 7 May. With Forest remaining out of theChampionship relegation zone by virtue of a one-goal difference withBlackburn Rovers, Assombalonga's brace – one a penalty and the other an exquisite solo effort – either side of aChris Cohen goal ensured that Forest retained their Championship status at the expense of the Lancashire club.[38] He ended the Championship season as Forest's top goalscorer, having scored 14 goals from 20 starts and 12 substitute appearances.[39]
On 17 July 2017, Assombalonga signed for newly relegatedChampionship clubMiddlesbrough, for a reported club-record fee of £15 million.[40][41] He scored his first goals for Middlesbrough when he scored twice in a 2–0 win againstBurton Albion on 15 August 2017.[42]
Middlesbrough did not offer him a renewal of his contract, due to expire at the end of the 2020–21 season, and managerNeil Warnock confirmed on 21 April 2021 that he had been allowed to leave the club early.[43]
On 3 July 2021, Assombalonga signed a three-year deal with the newly-promotedSüper Lig sideAdana Demirspor.[44] On 29 January 2023, he had his contract terminated by mutual consent.[45]
On 29 January 2023, Assombalonga signed forChampionship clubWatford on a six-month contract.[46] He scored his first goal for the club on 14 March 2023 in a 3–0 win againstBirmingham City.[47]
After spells in Turkey withAntalyaspor andAmedspor, Assombalonga joinedBarnet on 20 October 2025.[48]
Assombalonga was eligible to represent bothEngland and theDemocratic Republic of the Congo internationally. In August 2014, he was named on a 37-man provisional DR Congo squad list for the2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification but withdrew from the final squad.[49][50]
On 4 November 2016, theNottingham Post reported that Assombalonga had accepted a call-up to theDR Congo national side for their away game againstGuinea on 13 November.[51] Assombalonga was forced to pull out of the squad prior to the game as he was not cleared to play in time.[52] That December, Assombalonga rejected the chance to represent DR Congo at the2017 Africa Cup of Nations inGabon, stating that he wanted to focus on playing games for Nottingham Forest after an injury-hit season.[53]
Assombalonga made his senior debut for DR Congo in a friendly 2–0 loss toTanzania on 27 March 2018.[54][55]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Watford | 2011–12[56] | Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2012–13[57] | Championship | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Wealdstone (loan) | 2011–12[58] | IL Premier Division | 11 | 6 | — | — | 5[c] | 5 | 16 | 11 | ||
| Braintree Town (loan) | 2011–12[56] | Conference Premier | 5 | 5 | — | — | — | 5 | 5 | |||
| Southend United (loan) | 2012–13[57] | League Two | 43 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[d] | 1 | 49 | 16 |
| Peterborough United | 2013–14[59] | League One | 43 | 23 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 8[e] | 4 | 58 | 33 |
| Nottingham Forest | 2014–15[60] | Championship | 29 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 15 | |
| 2015–16[61] | Championship | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17[62] | Championship | 32 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 33 | 14 | ||
| Total | 65 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 69 | 30 | |||
| Middlesbrough | 2017–18[63] | Championship | 44 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 15 |
| 2018–19[64] | Championship | 42 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 16 | |
| 2019–20[65] | Championship | 35 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 11 | |
| 2020–21[66] | Championship | 31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 5 | |
| Total | 152 | 45 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 161 | 47 | ||
| Adana Demirspor | 2021–22[67] | Süper Lig | 37 | 10 | 3 | 2 | – | – | 40 | 12 | ||
| 2022–23[68] | Süper Lig | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | – | – | 13 | 6 | |||
| Total | 48 | 12 | 5 | 6 | – | – | 53 | 18 | ||||
| Watford | 2022–23 | Championship | 11 | 2 | – | – | – | 11 | 2 | |||
| Antalyaspor | 2023–24 | Süper Lig | 22 | 2 | 4 | 4 | – | – | 26 | 6 | ||
| Amedspor | 2024–25 | TFF 1. Lig | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 3 | ||
| Barnet | 2025–26 | League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[d] | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Career total | 421 | 143 | 19 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 22 | 11 | 470 | 172 | ||
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 30 June 2019 | 30 June Stadium,Cairo, Egypt |  Zimbabwe | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations |
Southend United
Peterborough United
Individual
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