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Kévin Denkey

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Kévin Denkey
Denkey in training with Béziers in 2019
Personal information
Full name Ahoueke Steeve Kévin Denkey
Date of birth (2000-11-30) 30 November 2000 (age 23)
Place of birth Lomé, Togo
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Cercle Brugge
Number 9
Youth career
2014–2017 Nîmes
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2020 Nîmes II 48 (25)
2017–2021 Nîmes 28 (4)
2019 → Béziers (loan) 11 (1)
2021– Cercle Brugge 130 (53)
International career‡
2018 Togo U20 3 (2)
2018– Togo 38 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 November 2024

Ahoueke Steeve Kévin Denkey (born 30 November 2000) is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Belgian club Cercle Brugge and the Togo national team. He will join Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati in 2025.[1]

Club career

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Early career

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Denkey was born in Togo, moving to France at the age of 12 in search of a better education. Denkey briefly stayed with his uncle in Paris before moving to Lyon to live with his aunt.[2]

While in Lyon, he joined Cascol Football under coach Franck Arlabos, playing for the under-14 side at the age of 12. Despite being scouted by Olympique Lyonnais, Denkey moved on his own to the south of France to join the Nîmes youth academy in 2014, still before his 14th birthday.[2][3]

Due to being left alone at weekends due to his classmates from boarding school returning home for the weekend, Denkey considered returning home to Togo, but persevered.[2] He made his professional debut for Nîmes in a 0–0 Ligue 2 draw with Le Havre on 13 January 2017.[4]

Denkey joined Béziers on a six-month loan in January 2019.[5]

Cercle Brugge

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On 10 January 2021, Denkey joined Cercle Brugge on a permanent transfer for an undisclosed fee.[6] He signed an initial three and a half year deal.[7]

Playing a support role to Ayase Ueda his first two-and-a-half seasons in Bruges, Denkey scored 23 goals in all competitions during that spell.[8] When Ueda left for Feyenoord in the summer of 2023, Denkey was given the main striker's role by coach Miron Muslic thanks in main to scoring in back-to-back end-of-season games against Gent and Standard Liege in the Belgian Pro League's European play-offs in May 2023.[9] [10]

As the main front man, Denkey scored 11 goals in his first 12 league games of the 2023-24 season for Cercle,[11] including a hat-trick in a 3–2 league win over OH Leuven on 7 October 2023.[12] He finished the 2023–24 season as the Belgian Pro League's top scorer with 27 goals, winning the Golden Bull trophy.[13] In all, Denkey scored 28 goals in all competitions, the highest tally in a single season for the club since Josip Weber in 1993-94.[14]

He also won the Ebony Shoe, awarded to the best footballer of African descent in Belgium's top division.[15] His goals helped the club finish in fourth position in the league, their highest finish since 2008, securing qualification to a UEFA competition for the first time since the 2010–11 season.[16]

Denkey prospered in Europe straight away, scoring a hat-trick against FC St. Gallen in the Conference League on 3 October 2024.[17] He also provided two assists in the match as Cerlce Brugge won 6–2.[17]

Denkey missed Cercle's 5-0 home loss to Anderlecht on 10 November 2024, with the club revealing he was absent due to transfer talks.[18] With Denkey then away on international duty, it was reported on 19 November 2024 that Denkey would join Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati for a new MLS record of $16.2 million, also an incoming club record for Cercle Brugge.[19][20][21]

FC Cincinnati

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On 21 November 2024, Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati announced they had signed Denkey for an MLS record transfer fee of $16.2 million.[22] Denkey will officially join the club as a Designated Player in 2025 on a three-year deal, with an option for an additional year until 2029.[23]

International career

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While playing for the Nimes second team, Denkey was invited to the Togo U20s for the 2018 Toulon Tournament, scoring two goals in three games.[24]

Denkey scored twice in a 2-1 win over South Korea and was approached by Togo senior national team coach Claude Leroy after the game. Leroy committed to follow Denkey's career and to promote Denkey to the Togo first team, with Denkey turning down an approach from the France Under-19 national team as a result.[2]

Three months later and while still 18 years old, Denkey made his debut for the Togo senior national team in a 0–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification draw with Benin on 9 September 2018.[25] After the match, Denkey was reunited with his family, having not seen them for over five years due to not being in Togo.[2]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 3 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Nîmes II 2016–17 CFA2 14 7 — — 14 7
2017–18 18 7 — — 18 7
2018–19 CFA 12 8 — — 12 8
2019–20 4 3 — — 4 3
Total 48 25 — — 48 25
Nîmes 2016–17 Ligue 2 1 0 0 0 — 1 0
2019–20 Ligue 1 17 3 2 0 — 19 3
2020–21 10 1 0 0 — 10 1
Total 28 4 2 0 — 30 4
Béziers (loan) 2018–19 Ligue 2 11 1 – — 11 1
Cercle Brugge 2020–21 Belgian Pro League 13 2 3 1 — 16 3
2021–22 28 6 1 1 — 29 7
2022–23 38 11 2 2 — 40 13
2023–24 38 27 1 1 — 39 28
2024–25 13 7 1 0 9[b] 4 23 11
Total 130 53 8 5 9 4 147 62
Career total 217 83 10 5 9 4 236 92
  1. ^ Includes Coupe de France, Belgian Cup
  2. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Europa League, five appearances and four goals in UEFA Conference League

International

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As of match played 17 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Togo 2018 4 1
2019 6 0
2020 3 0
2021 5 1
2022 4 0
2023 6 5
2024 10 2
Total 38 9
Scores and results list Togo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Denkey goal.[26]
List of international goals scored by Kévin Denkey
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 12 October 2018 Stade Général Eyadema, Lomé, Togo  Gambia 1–1 1–1 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2 12 October 2021 Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo  Congo 2–1 2–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 14 June 2023 Bidvest Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa  Lesotho 2–0 2–0 Friendly
4 18 June 2023 Mbombela Stadium, Mbombela, South Africa  Eswatini 1–0 2–0 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
5 10 September 2023 Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo  Cape Verde 1–2 3–2 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
6 2–2
7 16 November 2023 Martyrs of February Stadium, Benghazi, Libya  Sudan 1–1 1–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 6 September 2024 Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo  Liberia 1–0 1–1 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
9 17 November 2024 Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo  Equatorial Guinea 2–0 3–0 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ mlssoccer. "Kévin Denkey signing brings FC Cincinnati to "another level" | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Tomas Taecke (22 October 2023). "Het opmerkelijke levensverhaal van topschutter Kevin Denkey: "Een short en wat shirts, meer had ik niet mee"" [The remarkable life story of top scorer Kevin Denkey: “A pair of shorts and some shirts, that was all I had with me”] (in Dutch). Het Laatste Niewus. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Qui es-tu, Kévin Denkey ? - Nîmes Olympique". Nimes-Olympique. 23 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Nîmes Olympique - Havre AC (0-0) - Saison 2016/2017 - Domino's Ligue 2". www.lfp.fr.
  5. ^ "Nîmes prête Kevin Denkey à Beziers". lequipe.fr. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Striker Kévin Denkey Joins Cercle Bruges". cerclebrugge.be. 10 January 2021.
  7. ^ "KÉVIN DENKEY HAS AGREED PERSONAL TERMS WITH CERCLE BRUGGE". Get Football News France. 9 January 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Will Downing on X". X.com. 12 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Gent is zeker van Europees voetbal na felbevochten gelijkspel tegen Cercle Brugge" [Gent are sure of European football after hard-fought draw against Cercle Brugge]. Sporza (in Dutch). 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Gretig Cercle Brugge kent geen genade met Standard in vakantiemoduse" [Eager Cercle Brugge knows no mercy with Standard in holiday mode]. Sporza (in Dutch). 27 May 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  11. ^ Kévin Denkey at Soccerway
  12. ^ "WEERGALOZE HATTRICKHELD DENKEY SCHENKT CERCLE ZEGE TEGEN OH LEUVEN: 3-2". Cercle Brugge (in Dutch). 7 October 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Top scorer - First Division A 2023/2024 stats". FotMob. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Kevin Denkey closing in on season milestone and Cercle record". OneFootball.com. 4 February 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Cercle Brugge forward Kevin Denkey wins Ebony Shoe Award". Belga News. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Radhi Jaidi Helps Cercle Brugge Qualify for the Europa League". Football Careers. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Conference League round-up: Chelsea and Fiorentina open with wins". UEFA. 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Anderlecht scoort plots aan de lopende band en verkoopt Cercle Brugge een flinke oplawaai" [Anderlecht suddenly scores on a regular basis and gives Cercle Brugge a good beating]. Sporza (in Dutch). 10 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  19. ^ "FC Cincinnati signs Kevin Denkey in record MLS deal". cincinnati.com. Cincinnati Enquirer. 19 November 2024.
  20. ^ "FC Cincinnati Break MLS Transfer Record for Incoming Striker, per Report". si.com. Sports Illustrated. 20 November 2024.
  21. ^ Tom Bogert (20 November 2024). "FC Cincinnati complete league-record transfer for Cercle Brugge's Denkey: Sources". givemesport.com.
  22. ^ mlssoccer. "Kévin Denkey signing brings FC Cincinnati to "another level" | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  23. ^ fccincinnati. "FC Cincinnati acquire Togolese striker Kévin Denkey as Designated Player | FC Cincinnati". fccincinnati. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Ahoueke Kevin Denkey, la pépite de l'attaque Togolaise au tournoi de Toulon". TogoFoot. 31 May 2018.
  25. ^ "Elim CAN2019/ Togo 0-0 Benin: Emmanuel Adébayor » Nous sommes dos au mur mais c'est encore jouable. «". 10 September 2018. Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  26. ^ Kévin Denkey at National-Football-Teams.com
  27. ^ a b "Topschutter Kevin Denkey bekroont seizoen met Ebbenhouten Schoen: "Wordt moeilijk om bij Cercle te blijven"" [Topscorer Kevin Denkey crowns season with Ebony Shoe: "It will be difficult to stay with Cercle"]. 13 May 2024 – via sporza.be.
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