Eddy Gnahoré

Eddy Gnahoré
Personal information
Full name Vhakka Eddy Stelh Gnahoré[1]
Date of birth (1993-11-14) 14 November 1993 (age 30)[2]
Place of birth Villeneuve-la-Garenne, France
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Dinamo București
Number 8
Youth career
2000–2003 C.O. Savigny
2003–2005 Morangis-Chilly
2005–2008 Centre de Formation Paris
2008–2009 Châteauroux
2009–2010 Manchester City
2010–2013 Birmingham City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Birmingham City 0 (0)
2014–2016 Carrarese 43 (4)
2016–2017 Napoli 0 (0)
2016 → Carpi (loan) 0 (0)
2016–2017 → Crotone (loan) 1 (0)
2017 → Perugia (loan) 13 (1)
2017–2019 Palermo 32 (4)
2018–2019 → Amiens (loan) 34 (4)
2019–2022 Amiens 31 (2)
2020 → Wuhan Zall (loan) 14 (1)
2022–2024 Ascoli 14 (0)
2024– Dinamo București 2 (0)
International career
2011 France U18 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 January 2024

Vhakka Eddy Stelh Gnahoré (born 14 November 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Romanian Liga I club Dinamo București.

He began his professional career in England with Birmingham City, for whom he played in the FA Cup, and then moved to Italy where he spent one-and-a-half seasons with Carrarese. He joined Napoli in January 2016, and was immediately loaned to Carpi, but before making an appearance for them, he was involved in a car accident and missed the rest of the season. He spent the first half of 2016–17 on loan to Crotone before being recalled by Napoli and immediately loaned to Perugia. In July 2017, he signed a four-year contract with Palermo. He returned to France with Amiens, initially on loan, and spent the 2020 season with Chinese Super League club Wuhan Zall before returning to Amiens. He joined Ascoli in August 2022 and joined Dinamo București in January 2024.

He has represented France at under-18 level.

Club career

Gnahoré was born in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, in the Paris suburbs, of Ivorian descent.[2][4] As a youngster, he played for C.O. Savigny, from 2000 to 2003, and then for Morangis-Chilly until he joined the Paris Centre de Formation in November 2005. He remained there until 2008, when he joined the youth system of Châteauroux. After one season, he moved to England where he joined Manchester City's youth system in July 2009.[2] When he decided to leave Manchester City, he joined Birmingham City's Academy, whose then director, Terry Westley, described him as "not really a Vieira because he's not a tackler. He's more a number 10 who can also do a shift in midfield."[4] When he turned 18, in November 2011, Gnahoré signed his first professional contract, to run until 2014.[5]

He was given a first-team squad number in January 2012,[6] and his first competitive involvement came when he was named among the substitutes for the third-round FA Cup replay against Wolverhampton Wanderers, remaining unused.[7]

Gnahoré made his first-team debut on 28 January, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute for Chris Burke in the fourth-round FA Cup-tie against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, with Birmingham already 4–0 ahead.[8] He ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in training in February, and was predicted to be out of football for as much as nine months.[9] He returned to first-team consideration when given a squad number and a place on the bench for the visit to Leeds United in the third round of the FA Cup in January 2013.[10] In August 2013, Gnahoré had a trial with Mansfield Town,[11] and on the last day of the summer transfer window, his contract with Birmingham City was terminated by mutual consent.[12]

After leaving Birmingham, Gnahoré had trials with clubs including Troyes,[13] Saint-Étienne[14] and Olympique Marseille,[15] before signing for Italian third-tier club Carrarese in July 2014.[16] He became a regular selection in their first team, and scored his first goal in his ninth league match, a header to give his team a second-half lead against Santarcangelo on 26 October, but the visitors equalised in stoppage time.[17][18]

On 26 January 2016, Gnahoré signed for Napoli, who immediately loaned him to fellow Serie A club Carpi until the end of the 2016–17 season.[19][20] While driving home from training on 13 February, Gnahoré was involved in a serious accident when his car struck a lorry. He was taken to hospital by air ambulance. He was reported to have suffered injuries to head and pelvis which were not life-threatening.[21][22] The injuries kept him out for the rest of the season, at the end of which Carpi were relegated and Gnahoré returned to his parent club.[23]

He was loaned to another Serie A club, the newly promoted Crotone, for the 2016–17 season,[23] and finally made his Crotone and Serie A debut on 14 January 2017, as a 64th-minute substitute in a 1–0 home defeat against Bologna.[17][24] That was Gnahoré's only first-team appearance for the club. On the last day of the transfer window, Napoli recalled him and immediately loaned him to Perugia of Serie B until the end of the 2017–18 season.[25] He made his debut in the starting eleven for the visit to Ternana, a match which Perugia won 1–0, but his appearance drew a protest from Ternana about his eligibility. League rules allow a player to register for no more than three member clubs in the same season. Perugia argued that, if a player is recalled from loan by his parent club and loaned to another club on the same day, the brief time technically spent with the parent does not count towards the three.[26] The league ruled in Perugia's favour,[27] but Ternana planned to appeal to a higher authority.[28] Once confirmed as a Perugia player, he appeared in two-thirds of their remaining matches, and scored once, in a 2–2 draw with Pisa.[17]

Gnahoré signed a four-year contract with another Serie B club, Palermo, in July 2017.[29] According to the Corriere dello Sport, the fee was €1.5 million and Napoli had a buy-back clause included in the deal.[30] He contributed 4 goals from 35 appearances as Palermo finished fourth but lost out in the play-off final.[17]

He then returned to his native France where he signed on loan for Ligue 1 club Amiens for the season. The deal included an option to purchase.[31] He made his debut in the starting eleven for the opening match of the 2018–19 Ligue 1 campaign, a 2–0 defeat away to Olympique Lyonnais,[17] and on his third appearance, opened the scoring in a 4–1 win against Reims, collecting the ball with his back to goal and deceiving the goalkeeper from close range.[32] Amiens redeemed the player at the end of the season.[17]

He was loaned to Chinese Super League club Wuhan Zall for the 2020 season; the contract included an option to purchase.[33][34] After a lengthy wait for the season to start after COVID-19 pandemic-related delays, he played regularly, making 14 appearances between August and October and scoring once.[35] He was injured on 29 October, in what proved to be his last game for Wuhan Zall,[36][17] and underwent cruciate ligament surgery in December.[37]

Gnahoré returned to Amiens for pre-season training in 2021, but six matches into the 2021–22 Ligue 2 season, head coach Philippe Hinschberger still did not consider him physically ready for competitive football.[38] He made his first appearance of the season on 23 October, as a late substitute, his first start came a month later,[17][39] and although he had been expected to leave in January, he gradually resumed a regular place in the starting eleven and stated that he was happy at the club and the best thing for him would be to stay.[17][40]

Gnahoré returned to Italian football on 31 August 2022, signing a two-year contract with Serie B club Ascoli.[41] He was an unused substitute for the first match after his arrival,[17] then twisted a knee during training and required surgery to reconstruct the ACL and repair the medial meniscus in his right knee.[42][43] He trained with the first team in April 2023, was on the bench by the end of the month, and the coach said he needed game time to get back to his peak and would use him if he saw fit.[44] He was not used that season, but began the 2023–24 season as a regular in the matchday squad.[17]

In January 2024, he left Ascoli and joined Romanian Liga I club Dinamo București.[45]

International career

Gnahoré played twice for the France under-18 team. He played the first half of a friendly match against the Belgium under-18s on 25 January 2011, and two days later appeared as a late substitute against the same opponents.[2]

Career statistics

As of match played 27 January 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Birmingham City 2011–12[46] Championship 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
2012–13[47] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Carrarese 2014–15[17][48] Lega Pro Group B 31 1 — 1[b] 0 32 1
2015–16[17][49] Lega Pro Group B 12 3 — 2[b] 0 14 3
Total 43 4 — 3 0 46 4
Carpi (loan) 2015–16[17] Serie A 0 0 — — 0 0
Crotone (loan) 2016–17[17] Serie A 1 0 0 0 — 1 0
Perugia (loan) 2016–17[50] Serie B 13 1 — 1[c] 0 14 1
Palermo 2017–18[50] Serie B 32 4 1 0 3[c] 0 36 4
Amiens (loan) 2018–19[17] Ligue 1 34 4 2 0 2[d] 0 38 4
Amiens 2019–20[17] Ligue 1 17 0 1 0 2[d] 0 20 0
2020–21[17] Ligue 2 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2021–22[17] Ligue 2 14 2 6 2 — 20 4
Total 65 6 9 2 4 0 78 8
Wuhan Zall (loan) 2020[17] Chinese Super League 14 1 0 0 0 0 14 1
Ascoli 2022–23[17] Serie B 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2023–24[17] Serie B 14 0 1 0 — 15 0
Total 14 0 1 0 — 15 0
Dinamo București 2023–24[17] Liga I 2 0 — — 2 0
Career total 184 16 12 2 11 0 207 18
  1. ^ Includes FA Cup, Coppa Italia, Coupe de France, Chinese FA Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Coppa Italia Lega Pro
  3. ^ a b Appearance(s) in promotion play-offs
  4. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Coupe de la Ligue


References

  1. ^ "Premier League Professional retained list 2011/12" (PDF). The Premier League. June 2011. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d "Gnahoré Eddy". Fédération Française de Football. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  3. ^ "La fiche de Eddy Gnahoré". L'Équipe. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  4. ^ a b Tattum, Colin (5 February 2011). "Eddy Gnahore shining bright at Birmingham City Under-18s". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Academy's Gnahore signs pro deal". Birmingham City F.C. Academy. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Squad number for Gnahore". Birmingham City F.C. Academy. 17 January 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  7. ^ Lillywhite, Jamie (18 January 2012). "Wolves 0–1 Birmingham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Sheffield Utd 0–4 Birmingham". BBC Sport. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  9. ^ Tattum, Colin (1 March 2012). "Rising Birmingham City star Eddy Gnahore suffers major injury blow". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  10. ^ Tattum, Colin (5 January 2013). "Blues young guns may get FA Cup chance". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  11. ^ "Three trialists turn out as Stags reserves win opener at Doncaster with Meikle strike". Mansfield Chad. 13 August 2013. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
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  13. ^ "Opposition contre St Mesmin" [Opposition against St Mesmin] (in French). Troyes AC. 6 September 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  14. ^ "ASSE: Gnahoré mis à l'essai" [ASSE: Gnahoré on trial]. But! (in French). 28 October 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  15. ^ Chausssard, Allan (9 January 2014). "Deux joueurs à l'essai" [Two players on trial] (in French). Olympique de Marseille. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  16. ^ "Eddy Gnahorè e Luca Zanotti alla Carrarese" [Eddy Gnahoré and Luca Zanotti to Carrarese] (in Italian). Carrarese Calcio. 2 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "E. Gnahoré". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  18. ^ Marchini, Matteo (27 October 2014). "Carrarese: con il Santarcangelo un pari dopo aver gettato la vittoria alle ortiche" [Carrarese: a draw with Santarcangelo after throwing victory away]. La Gazzetta di Massa e Carrara (in Italian). Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  19. ^ "Napoli officially release a new deal with Gnahorè". S.S.C. Napoli. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  20. ^ "Mercato: Gnahorè in prestito biennale" [Transfer market: Gnahorè on two-season loan] (in Italian). Carpi F.C. 1909. 26 January 2016. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  21. ^ "Carpi, grave incidente d'auto Gnahoré. Trasportato in elicottero all'ospedale" [Carpi, Gnahoré in serious motor accident. Taken to hospital by helicopter]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 14 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  22. ^ "Condizioni Eddy Gnahorè" [Eddy Gnahoré's condition] (in Italian). Carpi F.C. 1909. 13 February 2016. Archived from the original on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  23. ^ a b "Official: Gnahore joins Crotone". footballitalia.net. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  24. ^ Festa, Luca (15 January 2017). "Crotone–Bologna, esordio in Serie A per Gnahoré" [Crotone–Bologna, Serie A debut for Gnahoré]. napoletanosinasce.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  25. ^ "Ufficiale: il centrocampista Gnahorè passa dal Crotone al Perugia via Napoli" [Official: midfielder Gnahoré goes from Crotone to Perugia via Napoli]. CrotoneSport.com (in Italian). 31 January 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  26. ^ "Caso Gnahoré, derby umbro sub judice" [Gnahoré case, Umbrian derby sub judice]. sportal.it (in Italian). 13 February 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  27. ^ "Comunicato ufficiale N. 86: Gara soc. Ternana – soc. Perugia" [Official report no. 86: Ternana–Perugia match] (PDF) (in Italian). Lega Nazionale Professionisti B. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  28. ^ "Ternana, la battaglia continua. Pronto un nuovo ricorso..." [Ternana, the fight goes on. Ready for a new appeal...]. Umbria Domani (in Italian). 15 February 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  29. ^ "Eddy Gnahorè è del Palermo" [Eddy Gnahoré is a Palermo player] (in Italian). U.S. Città di Palermo. 18 July 2017. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  30. ^ Russo de Cerame, Davide (18 July 2017). "Palermo, ufficiale l'arrivo di Gnahoré dal Napoli: i dettagli" [Palermo, arrival of Gnahoré from Napoli official: the details]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). Rome. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  31. ^ "Football: prêté par l'US Palerme, le joueur Eddy Gnahoré rejoint l'Amiens SC pour la saison" [Football: on loan from Palermo, player Eddy Gnahoré joins Amiens for the season] (in French). France 3 Hauts-de-France. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  32. ^ Guidicelli, Franck (25 August 2018). "L1 (J3): Amiens lance sa saison en corrigeant Reims" [L1 (day 3): Amiens launch their season by punishing Reims]. Foot 365 (in French). Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  33. ^ "武汉卓尔官方宣布签新外援 法国中场租借加盟" [Wuhan Zall announce the new loan signing of French midfielder]. Sina Sports (in Chinese). 29 February 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  34. ^ "Eddy Gnahoré prêté au FC Wuhan Zall (Chine)!" [Eddy Gnahoré loaned to FC Wuhan Zall (China)!] (in French). Amiens SC. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  35. ^ White, Jonathan (17 March 2020). "Coronavirus changes Chinese Super League team plans as Wuhan Zall return from Spain". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  36. ^ "Wuhan Zall beats Qingdao Huanghai in Chinese Super League playoff". Xinhua. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  37. ^ Touazi, Rachid (29 August 2020). "Amiens SC : Papeau et Gomis sur le départ, Zungu de retour" [Amiens SC: Papeau and Gomis on their way, Zungu back]. Le Courrier Picard (in French). Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  38. ^ Touazi, Rachid (29 August 2020). "Hinschberger (Amiens SC): "Nous avons pris du retard"" [Hinschberger (Amiens SC): "We've fallen behind"]. Le Courrier Picard (in French). Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  39. ^ "Amiens SC: Eddy Gnahoré, de retour pour mieux repartir?" [Amiens SC: Eddy Gnahoré, back to put himself in the shop window?]. Le 11 Hauts-de-France (in French). October 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  40. ^ Sauvestre, François (4 February 2022). "Ligue 2 – Pour Eddy Gnahoré, rester à Amiens "était la meilleure chose"" [Ligue 2 – For Eddy Gnahoré, staying at Amiens "was the best thing"]. France Bleu (in French). Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  41. ^ "#Calciomercato: biennale per il centrocampista Gnahoré" [Transfer market: two-year deal for midfielder Gnahoré] (in Italian). Ascoli Calcio. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  42. ^ "Mister Bucchi: 'Dovremo far valere le nostre qualità'" [Mister Bucchi: 'We must make our quality count'] (in Italian). Ascoli Calcio. 9 September 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  43. ^ "Ascoli, Gnahoré ko: operato al legamento crociato" [Ascoli, Gnahoré out: had cruciate ligament surgery]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 13 September 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  44. ^ "Pre gara Mister Breda: 'Col Como è sfida salvezza, in classifica dobbiamo tenerli dietro di noi'" [Pre-game Mister Breda: 'It's a relegation clash with Como, we need to keep them below us in the table'] (in Italian). Ascoli Calcio. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  45. ^ "Bine ai venit, Eddy Gnahoré!" [Welcome, Eddy Gnahoré!] (in Romanian). FC Dinamo 1948 București. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  46. ^ "Games played by Eddy Gnahoré in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  47. ^ "Games played by Eddy Gnahoré in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  48. ^ For Coppa Italia Lega Pro: "Live Carrarese vs Lucchese". Carrarese Calcio 1908. 9 August 2014. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
    Melegari, Saverio (14 August 2014). "Pistoiese-Carrarese 0–0 (FINALE) – Si decide tutto a Lucca" [Pistoiese-Carrarese 0–0 (FT) – All will be decided at Lucca]. Pistoia Sport (in Italian). Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  49. ^ For Coppa Italia Lega Pro: "Savona–Carrarese". Carrarese Calcio 1908. 14 August 2015. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
    "Carrarese–Pistoiese". Carrarese Calcio 1908. 23 August 2015. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  50. ^ a b "Eddy Gnahoré Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 August 2018.

External links