Alexander Djiku

Alexander Kwabena Baidooh Djiku (born 9 August 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe.[2] Born in France, he plays for the Ghana national team.[3]

Alexander Djiku
Djiku training with Caen in 2017
Personal information
Full name Alexander Kwabena Baidooh Djiku[1]
Date of birth (1994-08-09) 9 August 1994
Place of birth Montpellier, France
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Fenerbahçe
Number 6
Youth career
Bastia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2016 Bastia B 46 (0)
2014–2017 Bastia 45 (1)
2017–2019 Caen 59 (1)
2019–2023 Strasbourg 117 (3)
2023– Fenerbahçe 25 (3)
International career‡
2020– Ghana 29 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 June 2024

Club career

Bastia

Djiku spent his youth career at Bastia. He played for the reserve team until 2014. He made his debut in a Coupe de la Ligue match against Évian on 18 December 2013.[4][5] On 3 December 2014, he made his Ligue 1 debut with the team against Évian.

Caen

On 11 July 2017, Djiku joined Ligue 1 side Caen on a four-year contract, Caen paid 2M€ for buy-out.[6][7] On 5 August 2017, he made his debut with the team against Montpellier in Ligue 1.

Strasbourg

In July 2019, he was acquired by fellow Ligue 1 club Strasbourg for 4,5M€, signing a four-year contract.[8] He made his continental debut in a 3–1 UEFA Europa League win over Maccabi Haifa on 25 July 2017.

Fenerbahçe

On 10 July 2023, Djiku signed a three-year contract with Süper Lig side Fenerbahçe for a free transfer.[9] In his first year, he became one of the key players who took more responsibility on the field.[10]

He scored his first goal for Fenerbahçe on 28 September 2023 against Başakşehir, netting the first goal in a 4–0 victory.[11]

International career

Djiku is of Ghanaian Ewe and French descent.[12][13] He debuted with the senior Ghana national team in a 3–0 friendly loss to Mali on 9 October 2020. He played his second match for Ghana against Qatar on 12 October 2020 in which he impressed.[14] Djiku's third match came when he was given the opportunity by the Black Stars new head coach to start against Zimbabwe in a World Cup qualifier where Ghana won 3–1.[15][16]

He was part of Ghana's team at the 2021 African Cup of Nations in Cameroon and scored his first goal against Comoros on 18 January 2022.[17]

Personal life

Djiku is married to Heley Djiku. The couple have two children, Wesley and Elyana.[18]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 19 May 2024[19]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bastia B 2012–13 CFA 2 140———140
2013–14 140———140
2014–15 160———160
2015–16 10———10
2016–17 10———10
Total 460000000460
Bastia 2013–14 Ligue 1 000010—10
2014–15 201020—50
2015–16 2001000—210
2016–17 2311000—241
Total 451303000511
Caen 2017–18 Ligue 1 2804010—330
2018–19 3113010—351
Total 591702000681
Strasbourg 2019–20 Ligue 1 25111205[lower-alpha 3]0332
2020–21 30000——300
2021–22 31120——331
2022–23 31100——311
Total 11733120501274
Fenerbahçe 2023–24 Süper Lig 25300—11[lower-alpha 4]0363
Career total 2928131701603289
  1. Includes Coupe de France and Turkish Cup
  2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International
As of match played 10 June 2024[20]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Ghana 202040
202170
202291
202330
202461
Total292
Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first.[20]
List of international goals scored by Alexander Djiku
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.18 January 2022Roumdé Adjia Stadium, Garoua, Cameroon Comoros2–22–32021 Africa Cup of Nations
2.14 January 2024Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast Cape Verde1–11–22023 Africa Cup of Nations

Honours

Individual

  • Ghana Football Awards Footballer of the Year: 2022[21]
  • Strasbourg Player of the Month: January 2021, February 2021, March 2022

References
  1. "Player profile: Djiku".
  2. Alexander Djiku at WorldFootball.net
  3. "Alexander Djiku becomes Ghanaian with joint-most Ligue 1 appearances". MyJoyOnline. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  4. "Alexander Djiku". Ligue1.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  5. (in French) LFP
  6. Caen, Stade Malherbe (11 July 2017). "Coucou @alex_djiku! Le défenseur en provenance du @SCBastia s'engage pour 4 ans avec le @SMCaen #SMCaen #TeamSMC #Ligue1pic.twitter.com/avxVN8UAL3". @SMCaen. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  7. "Mercato. SM Caen : le défenseur Alexander Djiku signe quatre ans". Ouest-France (in French). 11 July 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  8. "ALEXANDER DJIKU REJOINT LE RACING" (in French). 5 July 2019. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  9. "Ailemize hoş geldin Alexander Djiku" (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe S.K. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  10. "Djiku, Skrtel'den bu yana bir ilki başardı!" (in Turkish). Beinsports. 25 September 2023.
  11. "Fenerbahçe 4-0 Rams Başakşehir" (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe S.K. 28 September 2023.
  12. http://www.africa-football.com/2017/07/11/mercato-sm-caen-alexander-djiku-en-approche-senegal/%5B%5D
  13. "Alexander Djiku :: Alexander Djiku :: Strasbourg". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  14. "Mali vs. Ghana". Soccerway.
  15. "2022 World Cup qualifiers: Ghana player ratings against Zimbabwe". Goal.com. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  16. "Ghana 3–1 Zimbabwe: Player ratings from 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Cape Coast". Ghana Sports Online. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  17. Ayamga, Emmanuel (18 January 2022). "Fatawu Issahaku starts as Milo names Ghana's starting line-up against Comoros". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  18. "Meet the wife and kids of Black Stars defender Alexander Djiku". GhanaWeb. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  19. Alexander Djiku at Soccerway
  20. Alexander Djiku at National-Football-Teams.com
  21. "2022 Ghana Football Awards: Full list of winners - MyJoyOnline.com". www.myjoyonline.com. 3 July 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
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