Idris Kanu

Idris Kanu
Personal information
Full name Idris Kanu[1]
Date of birth (1999-12-05) 5 December 1999
Place of birth England
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
 Port Vale
(on loan from Peterborough United)
Number 17
Youth career
2010–2016 West Ham United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Aldershot Town 29 (3)
2017– Peterborough United 18 (0)
2018– → Port Vale (loan) 2 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 14 October 2018 (UTC)

Idris Kanu (born 5 December 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for League Two club Port Vale, on loan from League One side Peterborough United.

He began playing football with West Ham United at the age of 11 and spent six years with the club. He signed for Aldershot Town in October 2016 and at the age of 16 became the club's youngest ever player and goalscorer in league competitions. He joined Peterborough United for an undisclosed fee in August 2017, from where he was loaned out to Port Vale for the 2018–19 season.

Club career

Early career

Kanu was recruited into the West Ham United academy at the age of 11 after impressing in a trial game for Barking and Dagenham district.[2] He appeared for the "Hammers" Under-21 team at the age of 15.[3] In September 2016, following his release from West Ham, he underwent a trial with Manchester United's Under-18 side and scored twice in a match against Middlesbrough.[4] A permanent move failed to materialize, however, and Kanu later revealed he rejected an offer from the Premier League club in order to play senior football regularly.[5]

Aldershot Town

On 7 October 2016, National League side Aldershot Town completed the signing of Kanu on an amateur contract after he had impressed during training sessions with the club.[2] Upon signing, he was reunited with James Rowe, the club's assistant manager who he had previously worked with at West Ham.[6] He made his debut the following day, coming on as a late substitute for Bernard Mensah in a 2–0 win over Solihull Moors at the Recreation Ground.[6] In doing so, at the age of 16 years and 308 days, Kanu became the youngest player ever to feature for the "Shots" in a league match.[7] He scored his first professional goal in the following match, netting in a 2–1 FA Cup defeat at home to Eastbourne Borough.[8] Kanu's first league goal came on 12 November when he scored the opening goal in a 3–3 draw at Lincoln City.[8] Upon scoring, Kanu broke another record by becoming the club's youngest ever goalscorer in league competition, aged 16 years and 343 days.[7] On 5 December, he signed his first professional contract with the club on his 17th birthday, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal.[7][9] He received his first ever red card the following year, when he was dismissed for two bookable offences in a 1–0 win over Dover Athletic on 17 April.[10] Kanu ultimately scored five goals in 33 appearances across all competitions as Gary Waddock's side fell just short of promotion at the end of the 2016–17 season, losing out to Tranmere Rovers in the play-off semi-finals.[11]

Peterborough United

On 1 August 2017, Kanu signed a three-year deal with League One side Peterborough United for an undisclosed fee.[12] He made his English Football League debut for the club on 5 August, coming on as a second-half substitute for Junior Morias in a 2–1 win over Plymouth Argyle at London Road.[13] Speaking at the end of the month, Peterborough manager Grant McCann said that he was very pleased with Kanu's progress.[14] However, McCann was sacked and replaced by Steve Evans in February 2018 and Kanu had to wait until the last day of the 2017–18 season to make his first start, featuring in a 2–0 defeat at Portsmouth.[15] Kanu made a total of 28 appearances during the campaign and Evans later announced that he would be made available to leave the club on loan the following season.[16][17]

Loan to Port Vale

On 28 June 2018, Kanu joined League Two side Port Vale on a season-long loan deal.[16] On 29 September, he came off the bench to make his first league appearance at Vale Park and scored first ever goal in the Football League with a header seven minutes into injury-time to secure the "Valiants" a 1–1 draw with Exeter City; manager Neil Aspin said it was just reward for player's hard work in training.[18]

International career

Kanu is eligible to represent England as his country of birth, as well as Sierra Leone through his parental lineage.[19]

Career statistics

As of match played 9 October 2018
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
LeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aldershot Town 2016–17[20] National League 29311003[lower-alpha 1]0334
Peterborough United 2017–18[21] League One 18030106[lower-alpha 2]0280
2018–19[22] League One 0000000000
Total 180301060280
Port Vale (loan) 2018–19[22] League Two 2100101[lower-alpha 2]041
Career total 4944120100655
  1. ↑ 2 appearances in play-offs and 1 appearance in FA Trophy.
  2. 1 2 Appearance/s in EFL Trophy.

References

  1. ↑ Idris Kanu at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 "Idris Kanu: Aldershot Town sign former West Ham United youngster". BBC Sport. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  3. ↑ O'Donovan, Ryan (11 October 2016). "Idris Kanu: All you need to know about Shots new signing". Get Hampshire. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  4. ↑ Tuck, James (5 September 2016). "Video: U18s - Manchester United 5 Middlesbrough 1". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  5. ↑ O'Donovan, Ryan (29 November 2016). "Why did Idris Kanu join Aldershot instead of Manchester United?". Get Surrey. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  6. 1 2 O'Donovan, Ryan (11 October 2016). "Idris Kanu: From Manchester United to Aldershot Town – all you need to know about the 16-year-old". Get Hampshire. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 "Idris Signs First Professional Contract". Aldershot Football Club. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  8. 1 2 O'Donovan, Ryan (29 November 2016). "Aldershot Town wonderkid Idris Kanu explains why he chose team over Manchester United". Get Surrey. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "Idris Kanu: Aldershot Town forward signs contract until 2019". BBC Sport. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  10. ↑ "Aldershot Town 1-0 Dover Athletic". BBC. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  11. ↑ "Tranmere into National League promotion final". BBC. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  12. ↑ "Posh Secure Signing Of Highly-Rated Kanu". Peterborough F.C. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  13. ↑ "Peterborough United vs. Plymouth Argyle". Soccerway. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  14. ↑ Swann, Alan (22 August 2017). "REPORT: Manager McCann delighted with Kanu progress". Peterborough Today. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  15. ↑ "Portsmouth 2-0 Peterborough United". BBC Sport. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  16. 1 2 "Idris Kanu & Theo Vassell: Port Vale sign Peterborough striker and Gateshead defender". BBC Sports. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  17. ↑ Smeaton, Graham (7 May 2018). "Retained list - Peterborough boss Evans offers unlucky 13 transfers from club - The72". the72.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  18. ↑ Baggaley, Michael (30 September 2018). "Neil Aspin praises Port Vale's Idris Kanu after landmark goal". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  19. ↑ Ifeanyi, Emmanuel (21 December 2016). "Man City Target Idris Kanu Clarifies : I Am Not Eligible To Represent Nigeria". All Nigeria Soccer. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  20. ↑ Idris Kanu at Soccerway. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  21. ↑ "Games played by Idris Kanu in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  22. 1 2 "Games played by Idris Kanu in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
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