Jerome Osei Opoku (born 14 October 1998) is a professional footballer. He plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club İstanbul Başakşehir. Born in England, he plays for the Ghana national team.
Opoku grew up admiring Gareth Bale and initially aspired to become a top-class winger. However, during his U-15 years, his coach Mark Pembridge shifted him to left-back. Around the same time, a sudden growth spurt prompted another change — this time to centre-back — a position he would go on to play for most of his senior career.
As captain of Fulham’s U-16 team, Opoku led the side to victory in the 2014 Premier League International Cup, defeating a highly-rated Chelsea squad in the final.
Club career
He captained the Fulham U23s at the end of the 2018–19 season.
On 2 September 2019, Opoku was sent on loan to League One side Accrington Stanley in order to gain first team experience. He made his Accrington debut against Bristol Rovers on 7 September 2019 in an eventual 3–3 draw. After a 3–1 defeat to Sunderland, in an interview he claimed he would play anywhere the coach put him.
On 25 September 2020, Opoku joined League One side Plymouth Argyle on loan until January.
On 30 July 2021, Opoku was loaned out again, this time to Danish Superliga club Vejle Boldklub, for the entire 2021–22 season.Vejle Boldklub lejer talentfuld forsvarsspiller i Fulham F.C. , vejle-boldklub.dk, 30 July 2021
On 24 June 2022, Opoku joined Portuguese Primeira Liga side Arouca on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract.
On 14 September 2023, Opoku signed a one-year contract extension with Arouca, until 2026, and was immediately sent on a season-long loan to Süper Lig side İstanbul Başakşehir.
International career Born in England, Opoku is of Ghanaian descent. On 18 October 2023, he debuted for the Ghana national team in a friendly loss to the United States national team.
On June 2, 2026, Opoku was integrated by Ghana's coach Carlos Queiroz into his list of 26 players in order to compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals Fulham U212017–18Premier League 2————1Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy0102018–19Premier League 2————2Appearances in the EFL Trophy020Total————3030 Accrington Stanley (loan)2019–20League One2101000—3Appearances in the EFL Trophy0250 Plymouth Argyle (loan)2020–21League One3314000—1Appearances in the EFL Trophy0381 Vejle Boldklub (loan)2021–22Danish Superliga20060———260 Arouca2022–23Primeira Liga2402031——2912023–24Primeira Liga2000002Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League0—40Total260203120—331İstanbul Başakşehir (loan)2023–24Süper Lig28440———324İstanbul Başakşehir2024–25Süper Lig33353—110—473Total61793—110—8110Total1618223311307020612
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsGhana202310202421202530Total61
Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Opoku goal. + List of international goals scored by Jerome OpokuNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 26 March 2024 Marrakech Stadium, Marrakech, Morocco 1–0 2–2 Friendly
References
External links