Michael Olakigbe
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Michael Oluwakorede Olakigbe[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 6 April 2004||
Place of birth | Lambeth, England[3] | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[4] | ||
Position(s) | Winger | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Wigan Athletic (on loan from Brentford) | ||
Number | 11 | ||
Youth career | |||
Erith & Belvedere | |||
East Soccer Base | |||
–2018 | Queens Park Rangers | ||
2018–2022 | Fulham | ||
2022–2023 | Brentford | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2023– | Brentford | 8 | (0) |
2024 | → Peterborough United (loan) | 5 | (0) |
2024– | → Wigan Athletic (loan) | 8 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2021–2022 | England U18 | 9 | (2) |
2023– | England U20 | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:34, 14 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11:29, 18 October 2023 (UTC) |
Michael Oluwakorede Olakigbe (born 6 April 2004) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for EFL League One club Wigan Athletic, on loan from Premier League club Brentford.
Olakigbe is a product of the Fulham and Queens Park Rangers academies and began his professional career with Brentford in 2022. He has been capped by England at youth level.
Club career
[edit]Early years
[edit]Following spells with Erith & Belvedere and the East Soccer Base and Queens Park Rangers academies,[5][6] Olakigbe joined the Fulham Academy in 2018.[7] He progressed through the ranks from U14 level to sign a scholarship deal at the end of the 2019–20 season.[8] He departed the club in July 2022.[9]
Brentford
[edit]2022–23
[edit]On 29 July 2022, Olakigbe transferred to the B team at Premier League club Brentford and signed a four-year contract, with the option of a further year,[7] for an undisclosed fee.[9] Injured at the time of his arrival, Olakigbe made his B team debut in October 2022 and progressed sufficiently to be included in the first team squad for its mid-season training camp in Girona.[5] He made three friendly appearances during the period and trained with the first team during the 2022–23 season.[5][10][11] On 1 April 2023, Olakigbe won his maiden call into a first team matchday squad and he remained an unused substitute during a 3–3 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.[12] He made 9 appearances during the B team's 2022–23 Premier League Cup-winning campaign and scored seven goals overall during the season.[12][13][14]
2023–24 and loan to Peterborough United
[edit]Olakigbe was included in the first team group during the 2023–24 pre-season and made five friendly appearances,[12][15] scoring two goals.[16] He made his competitive debut for the club with a start in a EFL Cup second round shoot-out win over Newport County on 29 August 2023.[12][17] Thereafter, Olakigbe was included in the majority of Brentford's matchday squads and he made 11 substitute appearances through to mid-January 2024.[13] During his run of appearances, Olakigbe signed a new 4+1⁄2-year contract, with the option of a further year.[18] On 30 January 2024, he joined League One club Peterborough United on loan until the end of the 2023–24 season.[19] During a spell interrupted by suspension and injury,[20][21] Olakigbe made just five appearances and was not involved in the club's unsuccessful playoff campaign.[22]
2024–25 and loan to Wigan Athletic
[edit]On 29 May 2024, Olakigbe joined League One club Wigan Athletic on loan for the duration of the 2024–25 season.[23] In early July, an "innocuous challenge" during a practice match at the club's pre-season training camp resulted in Olakigbe missing the first six weeks of the regular season with a fractured fibula.[24][25][26]
International career
[edit]Olakigbe is eligible to represent England or Nigeria at international level.[12] In March 2021, Olakigbe was called into an England U17 training camp and played in a hybrid friendly versus Watford U23 during the camp.[13][27] In September 2021, he won his first U18 call-up to a training camp and friendly versus Wales.[28] He made his international debut as a half-time substitute for Samuel Mather during the 1–1 draw.[29] Olakigbe won nine U18 caps and scored two goals during the 2021–22 season and was a part of the squad which emerged victorious in a four-nation tournament hosted in Zagreb in June 2022.[30]
On 1 September 2023, Olakigbe won his maiden call into the U20 squad, for a training camp at St George's Park.[31] One month later, he was called into the squad for the team's opening pair of Under 20 Elite League fixtures,[32] both of which he appeared in.[33][34]
Personal life
[edit]Olakigbe is of Nigerian descent.[4] He grew up in Bexleyheath and his mother runs the Pro Ballers football academy in the area.[5]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of match played 14 December 2024
Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Brentford | 2022–23[35] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | 0 | 0 | |
2023–24[17] | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ― | 12 | 0 | ||
Total | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ― | 12 | 0 | |||
Peterborough United (loan) | 2023–24[17] | League One | 5 | 0 | ― | ― | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2024–25[36] | League One | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[c] | 1 | 12 | 1 |
Career total | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 29 | 1 |
Honours
[edit]Brentford B
References
[edit]- ^ "2022/23 Premier League squad lists". www.premierleague.com. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ "Michael Olakigbe". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ "Brentford – 2023/2024". FootballSquads. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ a b Michael Olakigbe at WorldFootball.net
- ^ a b c d "Olakigbe – Just getting started". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Confirmed : Talented Nigerian Winger Joins Premier League New Boys Fulham". All Nigeria Soccer – The Complete Nigerian Football Portal. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Michael Olakigbe joins Brentford B". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "The Academy Cast Of 2020/21". Fulham FC. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Olakigbe Joins Brentford". Fulham FC. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "Brentford 1 Celta Vigo 3". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ "Brentford 2 Wolfsburg 2". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Brace, Jack (8 November 2023). "Brentford's failed pursuit of diamonds unearths gem of their own in Michael Olakigbe". Vavel. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ a b c Michael Olakigbe at Soccerway. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Brentford B 2 Blackburn U21 1". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ^ "Highlights, report and reaction: Boreham Wood 1 Brentford 1". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Michael Olakigbe: Chasing the Dream". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ a b c "Games played by Michael Olakigbe in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ "Michael Olakigbe signs new long-term contract". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ^ "Olakigbe makes Peterborough loan move". Brentford FC. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Peart-Harris and Portsmouth set the pace in League One". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
- ^ "Brentford pair to meet in League One play-offs". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
- ^ "Maghoma and Stevens set for play-off final showdown". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
- ^ "Olakigbe makes Wigan loan move". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- ^ "Massive injury blow as new Wigan Athletic signing Michael Olakigbe ruled out for three months with broken leg". Wigan Today. 11 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ "Shaun Maloney | Accrington Stanley (A) Preview". Wigan Athletic FC. 11 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
- ^ "Report: Wigan Athletic 0 Stevenage 0 – Olakigbe debut is highlight of frustrating night for Tics". Wigan Today. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
- ^ "International Call-Ups". Fulham FC. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "International Call-Ups". Fulham FC. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "England MU18s were held to a 1–1 draw by Wales in Newport". The Football Association. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "England MU18s win four nations tournament". The Football Association. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "Training camp squad selected for England MU20s". The Football Association. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "England men's Elite League squad named". The Football Association. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ "Report: Romania 2–0 England's Elite League squad". The Football Association. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ "Report: England Elite League squad 1–2 Portugal". The Football Association. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ "Games played by Michael Olakigbe in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
- ^ "Games played by Michael Olakigbe in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
External links
[edit]- Michael Olakigbe at Soccerbase
- Michael Olakigbe at brentfordfc.com
- Michael Olakigbe at wiganathletic.com