 Anya withWatford in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ikechi Anya[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1988-01-03)3 January 1988 (age 37)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2003 | Oxford United | ||
| 2003–2004 | Wycombe Wanderers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2007 | Wycombe Wanderers | 18 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Oxford City | 17 | (4) |
| 2008 | Halesowen Town | 17 | (0) |
| 2009 | Northampton Town | 14 | (3) |
| 2009–2010 | Sevilla Atlético | 22 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Celta B | 35 | (8) |
| 2011 | Celta | 1 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | Granada | 0 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | →Cádiz (loan) | 29 | (4) |
| 2012–2013 | →Watford (loan) | 25 | (3) |
| 2013–2016 | Watford | 99 | (5) |
| 2016–2020 | Derby County | 35 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013–2017 | Scotland | 29 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:44, 24 January 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 October 2021 | |||
Ikechi Anya (born 3 January 1988) is a Scottish former professionalfootballer. A versatile player, Anya was fielded in a number of positions, includingwinger,wing-back andfull-back.[3]
He played forWycombe Wanderers,Northampton Town,Watford andDerby County in England, as well as for Spanish clubsCelta de Vigo,Sevilla Atlético andGranada. Eligible to also representRomania, Nigeria or England, he chose to play for the country of his birth,Scotland. Anya made 29 international appearances between 2013 and 2017, scoring three goals.
Anya's father is a Nigerian research scientist of theIgbo ethnic group and his mother aRomanian economist. The couple met while studying inBucharest. After finishing their studies, his parents moved to Scotland in the late 1980s for his father to obtain his doctorate in metallurgy.[4]
Anya was born inGlasgow, Scotland and spent his early childhood in theCastlemilk area.[5] His mother, Mariana, states that as a very young boy Anya "was kicking a ball in front of the house where he grew up in Glasgow from morning till night."[6] The family moved toOxford when he was seven years old after his father got a job at theUniversity of Oxford. Anya maintained his fondness for Scotland, stating that whenever Scotland played England he would cheer "Come on Scotland".[5]
His older brother, Chima, is a medical doctor.[6]
Anya joined theWycombe Wanderers youth team in the 2003–04 season, having been released byOxford United.
His performances in the youth team ensured that he was well talked about within the club, enough that he was given the number 28 shirt by then managerTony Adams for the match atSouthend United on 11 September 2004, becoming the club's youngest ever player at the age of 16.[7]
LikeRussell Martin, he committed his short-term future to the club, signing a two-year deal in June 2005 and whilst at Wycombe won Apprentice of the Year at the inaugural Football League Awards in 2006.[8]
He was released in the summer of 2007 and signed forOxford City, before being snapped up in January 2008 by Halesowen Town. In the summer of 2008 he joined theGlenn Hoddle Academy and his contract expired in the summer of 2010.[9][10]
On 28 February 2009, Anya signed forLeague One sideNorthampton Town. He made his debut as coming on as a substitute in the game away toCheltenham Town on the same day.[11] His first goal for the club came as part of a 3–4 defeat againstSwindon Town on 24 March.[12] His second goal came in the 92nd minute of the 3–1 victory atLeyton Orient, his goal wrapping up a victory in the fight against relegation for Northampton which they eventually lost.
Northampton managerStuart Gray was keen to re-sign Anya on a long-term deal at the end of the season, but on 7 July 2009, he joinedSevilla Atlético, the reserve side ofSevilla, on a two-year contract.[13][14]
Anya signed forCelta Vigo in July 2010 after his contract with the Glenn Hoddle Academy expired.[15] On 13 July 2011, Anya signed a three-year contract with newly promotedLa Liga sideGranada.[16] He was then loaned out toCádiz for the season.[17]
Anya was loaned to English sideWatford for the2012–13 season.[18] He made his Watford debut as a substitute in the home defeat againstIpswich Town on 21 August 2012. He made his first start and scored his first goal for the club in the home defeat toBradford City in the second round of theLeague Cup on 28 August 2012. Anya scored his first league goal for Watford againstBlackpool in a 2–2 draw on 24 November 2012.
On 22 July 2013, Anya completed a permanent move to Watford, signing a three-year deal.[19] He extended his contract following Watford's promotion to the Premier League in 2015, and was contracted to the club until his move to Derby County on transfer deadline day in August 2016.
On 31 August 2016, Anya signed a four-year contract withDerby County.[20][21] Anya scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw withBristol City on 17 September 2016.[22] Anya left Derby in June 2020.[21]
Anya chose to play international football forScotland, the land of his birth, but would also have been eligible forEngland (through residence),Nigeria (through his father) orRomania (through his mother).[23][24][25] He received his first call up to theScotland national team on 23 August 2013 for Scotland's World Cupqualifying double header in September againstBelgium andMacedonia.[26] He made his debut for Scotland against Belgium as a substitute on the hour mark on 6 September 2013 in a World Cup qualifying match, although Scotland were already unable to qualify for the final tournament. He made his first start and scored his first international goal in the following game, a 2–1 win in Macedonia on 10 September.[27] On 7 September 2014 he scored against the world championsGermany in the first match ofUEFA Euro 2016 qualification inDortmund, Scotland lost 2–1.[28]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Wycombe Wanderers | 2004–05 | League Two | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | League Two | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Total | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
| Northampton Town | 2008–09 | League Two | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| Sevilla Atlético | 2009–10 | Segunda División B | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| Celta B | 2010–11 | Segunda División B | 35 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 8 |
| Celta | 2010–11 | Segunda División | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Granada | 2011–12 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cádiz (loan) | 2011–12 | Segunda División B | 33 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 5 |
| Watford | 2012–13 | Championship | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3[a] | 0 | 29 | 4 |
| 2013–14 | Championship | 35 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 5 | |
| 2014–15 | Championship | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | Premier League | 28 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 124 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 138 | 9 | ||
| Derby County | 2016–17 | Championship | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| 2017–18 | Championship | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 281 | 24 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 311 | 26 | ||
| Scotland national team[31] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2013 | 4 | 1 |
| 2014 | 7 | 1 |
| 2015 | 6 | 0 |
| 2016 | 7 | 1 |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 26 | 3 |
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 10 September 2013 | Philip II Arena,Skopje |  North Macedonia | 0–1 | 1–2[27] | 2014 World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 7 September 2014 | Signal Iduna Park,Dortmund |  Germany | 1–1 | 2–1[28] | EURO 2016 qualification |
| 3. | 24 March 2016 | Generali Arena,Prague |  Czech Republic | 0–1 | 0–1[32] | Friendly |
Individual
