William Opoku Asiedu (born 1 April 1997) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Besides Ghana, he has played in England, Estonia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Bhutan and India.[2]

William Opoku
Personal information
Full name William
Date of birth (1997-04-01) 1 April 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 12 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016 Okyeman Planners
2016–2017 Middlesbrough 0 (0)
2017Levadia Tallinn (loan) 1 (0)
2017Levadia Tallinn U21 (loan) 15 (7)
2017–2019 Minerva Punjab 29 (7)
2019 Ozone 8 (1)
2019 BSS Sporting Club 4 (5)
2020 Bhawanipore 5 (0)
2020–2021 Bengaluru United 4 (1)
2021 Butwal Lumbini (4)
2023 Bodoland FC
2024 Al-Qous
2024 Paro FC
International career
2016 Ghana U20
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Opoku's career began in Ghana with Division One club Okyeman Planners.[3] He scored eleven goals in his final season, 2016, with Okyeman.[3] In February 2017, Opoku joined Premier League team Middlesbrough on a long-term contract.[4][5] He was immediately loaned out to Levadia Tallinn of the Meistriliiga for eighteen months.[4][5] He made his Levadia debut on 3 March in the league versus Flora.[1] During his time in Estonia, Opoku mainly featured for their reserve team in the Esiliiga.[1] In total, he scored seven goals in fifteen games in the tier two.[1] His loan with Levadia was terminated in June 2017.[6]

On 26 September, Opoku joined I-League side Minerva Punjab.[7][8][9] He made a goalscoring debut for Minerva in a 2017 Punjab State Football League match against Dalbir FA.[10] In I-League action, Opoku scored three goals in his first four appearances.[1] On 8 March 2018, Opoku scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win over Churchill Brothers which secured the 2017–18 I-League title.[1][11][12] He extended his contract for one more year in September 2018.[13] However, in 2019, Opoku moved to Ozone of the I-League 2nd Division.[14] Months after, he headed to Calcutta Football League team BSS Sporting Club.[15]

2020 saw Opoku move across Kolkata to Bhawanipore.[16] In September of the same year, Opoku headed back to the I-League 2nd Division with Bengaluru United.[17]

International career

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Opoku has represented Ghana at U20 level, featuring during the 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.[3][18]

Career statistics

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As of 5 September 2020[1]
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Minerva Punjab 2017–18 I-League 18 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 5
2018–19 11 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 2
Career total 29 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 7

Honours

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Minerva Punjab

Paro Fc

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "William Opoku profile". Soccerway. 16 November 2017. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  2. ^ Opoku: How India's second division is better than Ghana Archived 9 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine goal.com
  3. ^ a b c "EXCLUSIVE: Okyeman Planners super kid William Opoku Asiedu lands at the Riverside to seal Middlesbrough move". Ghana Soccernet. 4 November 2016. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Midfielder William Opoku Asiedu Joins Boro's Academy". Middlesbrough F.C. 2 February 2017. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  5. ^ a b "William Opoku Asiedu: Middlesbrough sign Ghana youngster and loan him out to Estonian club". Gazette Live. 2 February 2017. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Levadia loobus Middlesbrough'st laenul olnud ghanalase teenetest". Eesti Rahvusringhääling. 15 June 2017. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Minerva Punjab FC on a signing spree, rope in talented foreigner from Middlesbrough". Minerva Punjab FC. 26 September 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  8. ^ "U-17 World Cup 2017: Colombia beat Minerva Punjab U-20 in practice match". Goal. 27 September 2017. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Levadiast lahkunud ghanalane läks koos Kovbiga Indiasse". Eesti Rahvusringhääling. 27 September 2017. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Minerva Punjab FC trash Dalbir FA 3-0 in Punjab Football League". Minerva Punjab FC. 3 October 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Minerva Punjab FC Crowned Hero I-League Champions". I-League. 8 March 2018. Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Minerva Punjab FC crowned I-League 2017-18 champions". Goal. 8 March 2018. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  13. ^ "WILLIAM OPOKU EXTENDS HIS STAY WITH THE WARRIORS". minervapunjabfc. com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  14. ^ "Match Details - Hero I-League". I-League. 2 March 2019. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  15. ^ "Top five underdog teams in Calcutta Football League 2019". Khel Now. 25 July 2019. Archived from the original on 18 May 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Match Details". League. 25 January 2020. Archived from the original on 11 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  17. ^ "Primus, Opoku to lead FCBU's challenge". The Times of India. 5 September 2020. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Asiedu happy to join Middlesbrough". Goal. 2 February 2017. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bhutan premier league winners 1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bhutan premier league winners 2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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