Imoh Fred Friday (born 20 May 1995) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker.[1][2]
Career
Born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Friday played youth football for Unicem Rovers, Gabros FC and BUJOC Sports Academy in the lower leagues of Nigeria.[3] He left Nigeria for Norway in 2013, and at the age of 17 he spent three weeks on trial at Lillestrøm before he was signed on a permanent basis.[3] Then-coach Magnus Haglund handed him just three appearances all season as the club flirted with relegation.[3]
In July 2016, Friday moved from Lillestrøm to Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar, on a four-year contract.[4][5] He moved on loan to Sparta Rotterdam in January 2018.[6]
He was released by AZ in January 2020.[7]
On 29 January 2021, after being a free agent for a year, Friday returned to Norwegian football, signing a two-year contract with Strømsgodset where he was assigned the number 9 jersey.[8]
In February 2023 he signed for Beitar Jerusalem.[9]
On 23 May 2023, Friday scored a goal in the Israeli State Cup final.[10]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lillestrøm | 2013 | Tippeligaen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2014 | Tippeligaen | 16 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 3 | |||
| 2015 | Tippeligaen | 26 | 11 | 3 | 6 | – | – | 29 | 17 | |||
| 2016 | Tippeligaen | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 8 | |||
| Total | 57 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 28 | ||
| AZ | 2016–17 | Eredivisie | 23 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 7 |
| 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 28 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 9 | ||
| Jong AZ | 2016–17 | Tweede Divisie | 3 | 4 | – | – | – | 3 | 4 | |||
| 2017–18 | Eerste Divisie | 7 | 7 | – | – | – | 7 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 10 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 11 | ||
| Sparta Rotterdam (loan) | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 4 | ||
| Twente (loan) | 2018–19 | Eerste Divisie | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 11 | 0 | ||
| Strømsgodset | 2021 | Eliteserien | 30 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 7 | ||
| 2022 | Eliteserien | 26 | 5 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 30 | 6 | |||
| Total | 56 | 12 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 60 | 13 | ||||
| Beitar Jerusalem | 2022–23 | Israeli Premier League | 9 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| 2023–24 | Israeli Premier League | 31 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 4 | |
| Total | 40 | 4 | 4 | 2 | – | 1 | 1 | 45 | 7 | |||
| Career total | 216 | 60 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 248 | 72 | ||
References
- ^ a b Fred Friday at WorldFootball.net
- ^ Fred Friday at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
- ^ a b c Udoh, Colin (14 May 2016). "Lillestrom SK striker Fred Friday could have a bright future for Nigeria". ESPN. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ "Fred Friday solgt til AZ Alkmaar". www.lsk.no (in Norwegian). Lillestrøm SK. 15 July 2016. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
- ^ "Fred Friday completes move to AZ Alkmaar". football-oranje.com. Football Oranje. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ Sparta huurt Friday van AZ (Dutch). NOS. 10 January 2018.
- ^ "Fred Friday: van beoogde opvolger Vincent Janssen tot totale flop". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 13 January 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ "Fred Friday er klar for SIF". Strømsgodset (in Norwegian). 29 January 2021. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ Nwosu, Chigozie (1 February 2023). "Done Deal: Fred Friday Leaves Strømsgodset For Beitar Jerusalem Football Club - Nigeria Sports News". Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- ^ https://playbyplay.sport5.co.il/?FLNum=28&GameID=131282&utm_campaign=israel_state_cup_%28israel%29&utm_content=m._netanya_vs_beitar_jerusalem&utm_medium=organic_box&utm_source=google (in Hebrew).
- ^ "Fred Friday". nifs.no (in Norwegian). A-pressen. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
External links