 Okore playing forAston Villa | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tetchi Jores Charlemagne Ulrich Okore[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-08-11)11 August 1992 (age 32) | ||
| Place of birth | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2007 | B.93 | ||
| 2007–2011 | Nordsjælland | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2013 | Nordsjælland | 65 | (5) |
| 2013–2016 | Aston Villa | 38 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | Copenhagen | 5 | (0) |
| 2017–2020 | AaB | 104 | (4) |
| 2021–2023 | Changchun Yatai | 78 | (3) |
| 2024 | B.93 | 5 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2011–2014 | Denmark U21 | 7 | (0) |
| 2016 | Denmark U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 2011–2014 | Denmark | 11 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 December 2024 | |||
Tetchi Jores Charlemagne Ulrich Okore (French pronunciation:[ʒɔ.ʁɛsɔ.kɔ.ʁe];Danish pronunciation:[ˈjoːɐsoˈkʰoːɐ]; born 11 August 1992), simply known asJores Okore, is a professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back. Born in Ivory Coast, he has represented theDenmark national team.
Okore is considered a capable and aggressive defender, who is known for his pace and strength.[3]
Okore was born inAbidjan,Ivory Coast. He moved to Denmark with his family at the age of three and began to play football five years later withB.93 in theØsterbro district ofCopenhagen.[4] He moved toNordsjælland in 2007, captaining the club's youth sides.[5]
Having previously made a handful of appearances inDanish Cup games, including being part of the Nordsjælland Cup-winning team in2010–11, Okore made his league debut againstHorsens on 3 April 2011, coming on as a substitute forMichael Parkhurst.[6] Okore would continue to making first-team appearances in place of the injured Parkhurst for the remainder of the2010–11 season, going on to make 11 league appearances and creating one assist.[3][7] Okore signed a new four-year contract with theFarum-based club in June 2011,[5] and was made an official member of the senior squad for the2011–12 Superliga season by newly appointed head coachKasper Hjulmand.[citation needed]
On 18 September 2011, Jores scored his first senior goal for Nordsjælland in a 2–0 league win overBrøndby. It was his only goal in that season.[8] In November 2011, he signed a new contract, extending his stay with the club to December 2016.[9] He was made vice-captain of Nordsjælland for the2012–13 season.[citation needed]
On 13 June 2013, Okore signed for EnglishPremier League clubAston Villa on a four-year deal for a fee believed to be in the region of £4 million.[10] Nordsjælland confirmed via the club's official Twitter and Facebook accounts that he was their most expensive sale ever.[citation needed] He made his Premier League debut on 21 August 2013 atStamford Bridge againstChelsea, replacing the injuredCiaran Clark a few minutes before half-time.[11] Okore made his firstPremier League start on 24 August in Villa's home game againstLiverpool. On 16 September 2013, Villa announced that Okore will be sidelined for the2013–14 season after suffering a rupturedanterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee in a game againstNewcastle United on 14 September; the injury required season-ending surgery.[12]
On 24 November 2014, Okore made his return to the Villa first team in a 1–1 draw againstSouthampton at Villa Park, 14 months after his injury. He scored his first goal for Villa in a 2–1 defeat to Chelsea atVilla Park, nodding in a cross fromCarles Gil.[13] On 9 April 2016, Okore refused to take a position as asubstitute on the bench for Villa's game againstAFC Bournemouth. Subsequently he told caretaker manager,Eric Black that he did not want to be considered for any further games in the2015–16 season. He was removed from the first-team squad and ordered to train with the under-21 side.[14]
On 27 August 2016, it was confirmed, that Okore had signed a four-year contract withDanish Superliga-clubFC Copenhagen.[15] He made his Superliga debut for the club on 18 November 2016, when he came on as a substitute in the 89th minute instead ofRasmus Falk in a 2–1 victory overAaB.[16] In his sole season at the club, Okore made five Superliga appearance, in which he played full time in three of the matches.[17]
On 6 July 2017, it was announced that Okore moved to AaB from Copenhagen for a reported fee of DKK 4.2 million.[18] He signed a three-year contract keeping him at the club until 30 June 2020.[19]
Okore signed a three-year contract with recently promotedChinese Super League clubChangchun Yatai on 25 February 2021, after having made 116 official appearances for AaB.[20] After the move, Okore stated: "As a club and as a city, AaB andAalborg have more than matched my expectations, and I look back on a good time".[21] He made his debut as a starter for Changchun Yatai on 22 April 2021, the opening game of the Super League in a 2–1 win overDalian Pro.[22][23] On 3 July 2022, he scored his first goal for Yatai in a 2-2 draw againstDalian Pro.
On September 7, 2024, after Okore had trained with his former youth club,B.93 for a while, the club confirmed that the partners had reached an agreement. It is not known how long an agreement.[24]
Although Okore's contract expired at the end of 2024,[25] he played in a training match in early January for the club, despite the fact that the parties had not yet agreed on a new deal.[26][27] However, on February 4, 2025, B.93 confirmed that the club would not offer Okore a new contract.[28]
On 6 September 2011, Okore made his international youth debut for theDenmark under-21 team at the age of 19, participating in aUEFA Under-21 Championship Qualifier, winning 3–0 overNorthern Ireland.
Having made his debut two months earlier for the U21s, on 6 November 2011 Jores Okore was called up to theDanish senior team as a replacement forSimon Kjær, for a friendly againstSweden on 11 November 2011.[29] He made his senior debut in that match, coming on at the 62nd minute, replacing his club teammateAndreas Bjelland.[30] Okore was retained for the following international friendly againstFinland, where he received his second cap and first start on 15 November 2011.
Okore was once again called up in December 2011 for Denmark's tour ofThailand in January.[31] On 24 May 2012, it was announced that Okore had been selected for Denmark's squad forUEFA Euro 2012 as well as the preceding friendly matches againstBrazil andAustralia.[32]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nordsjælland | 2009–10 | Danish Superliga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | Danish Superliga | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Danish Superliga | 25 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 30 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | Danish Superliga | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 34 | 4 | ||
| Total | 65 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 5 | ||
| Aston Villa | 2013–14 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| 2015–16 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 36 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 1 | ||
| Copenhagen | 2016–17 | Danish Superliga | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| AaB | 2017–18 | Danish Superliga | 27 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Danish Superliga | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Danish Superliga | 35 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21 | Danish Superliga | 13 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 15 | 2 | |||
| Total | 104 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 116 | 5 | ||
| Changchun Yatai | 2021 | Chinese Super League | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | Chinese Super League | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 1 | |||
| 2023 | Chinese Super League | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 2 | |||
| Total | 78 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 288 | 13 | 28 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 324 | 14 | ||
Nordsjælland
Aston Villa
Copenhagen
AaBDanish Cup runner-up:2019–20[37]
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