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Ovie Ejaria

Oviemuno Dominic Ejaria (born 18 November 1997) is an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder, most recently for EFL League One club Reading.

Ovie Ejaria
Ejaria playing for Rangers in 2018
Personal information
Full name Oviemuno Dominic Ejaria[1]
Date of birth (1997-11-18) 18 November 1997 (age 27)[2]
Place of birth Southwark, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
2005–2014 Arsenal
2014–2016 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2020 Liverpool 2 (0)
2018 → Sunderland (loan) 11 (1)
2018 → Rangers (loan) 14 (1)
2019–2020 → Reading (loan) 52 (4)
2020–2023 Reading 72 (5)
International career
2016–2017 England U20[4] 7 (2)
2018 England U21[5] 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 December 2023 (UTC)

He is a former England under-21 international.

Personal life

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Ejaria was born and raised in England to Nigerian parents. He is an Arsenal fan.

Club career

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Living in Southwark, Greater London,[6] he grew up supporting Arsenal for whom he played for nine years before signing for Liverpool in 2014.[7] His first competitive call-up came on 16 September 2016 in a Premier League match against Chelsea.[8] He was an unused substitute in Liverpool's 2–1 victory.[8] Four days later, he made his first-team debut against Derby County in the EFL Cup, replacing Roberto Firmino in a 3–0 victory.[9]

On 25 October, Ejaria made his full debut in the fourth round of the EFL Cup in a 2–1 win over against Tottenham at Anfield.[9] On 6 November 2016, he debuted in the Premier League, coming on as a substitute in Liverpool's 6–1 home win over Watford.[9]

On 31 January 2018, Ejaria made a deadline day switch to Sunderland, signing on loan for the remainder of the season.[10] He made 11 appearances in total as the club were relegated to League One.[11][12] His only goal, and his first in senior football, came in the final match of the regular season when he opened the scoring in a 3–0 win over the eventual league champions,[11] Wolverhampton Wanderers.[13]

In June 2018, Ejaria moved on loan to Scottish Premiership club Rangers for the 2018–19 season, managed by former Liverpool captain and academy coach Steven Gerrard, after signing a new long-term contract with Liverpool.[14][15] He made his debut on 12 July, coming on as a second-half substitute in Rangers' 2–0 UEFA Europa League win over Macedonian team Shkupi.[16] He scored his first goal for the club in a Scottish Premiership match against Motherwell on 26 August.[16] Four days later on 30 August he scored against Russian Premier League team FC Ufa in the away leg of the Europa League Play-off Round, the 1–1 result sent Rangers into the Group stage 2–1 on aggregate. In December 2018 his loan was curtailed earlier than planned and he returned to training with Liverpool.[17]

On 7 January 2019, Ejaria joined Championship club Reading on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.[18] He rejoined Reading on 8 August on loan for the 2019–20 season, with Reading having an obligation to sign Ejaria permanently at the end of the season.[19] On 2 July, Reading confirmed that Ejaria's loan deal from Liverpool had been extended until the end of July to account for prolonged 2019–20 season.[20]

On 28 August 2020, Ejaria signed a permanent four-year contract with Reading[21] which would earn him an annual salary of £650,000.[22] On 18 December 2023, Ejaria left the club by mutual consent.[23] Following his release by Reading, Ejaria was reported to have gone on trial with EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle.[24] In October 2024, Ejaria went on trial with Egyptian Premier League club Zamalek, managed by his former Reading Manager José Gomes.[25]

International career

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Ejaria is eligible to represent England or Nigeria internationally. He trained with the Nigeria under-17 team in 2013 and stated that his international allegiance lay with the country in 2014.[26] However, despite rumours of a senior Nigeria call up being in the offing, Ejaria accepted a call up to the England U20 team on 30 September 2016.[27] He made his debut for the Under-20 team on 7 October, in a 3–1 win against Germany, playing the whole match.[28]

Ejaria was selected for the England under-20 team in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He made his first start in a game in the first round match against South Korea,[29] and came on as a substitute the quarter-final against Mexico,[30] but was an unused substitute in the final where England beat Venezuela 1–0.[31]

He was called up for the England under-21 team in March 2018, making his debut in a friendly against Romania.[32] He was called up again in May 2018 for the Toulon Tournament[33] but had to withdraw from the squad due to an injury.[34]

In December 2019, Nigeria national team coach Gernot Rohr urged the Nigeria Football Federation to get Ejaria to switch allegiance to Nigeria.[35]

Career statistics

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As of match played 8 November 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] League Cup[b] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Liverpool 2016–17[9] Premier League 2 0 3 0 3 0 — 8 0
2017–18[11] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 2 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 8 0
Sunderland (loan) 2017–18[11] Championship 11 1 — — — 11 1
Rangers (loan) 2018–19[16] Scottish Premiership 14 1 0 0 3 0 11[c] 1 28 2
Reading (loan) 2018–19[16] Championship 16 1 — — — 16 1
2019–20[36] 36 3 1 0 2 0 — 39 3
Total 52 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 55 4
Reading 2020–21 Championship 38 3 0 0 0 0 — 38 3
2021–22 26 2 0 0 0 0 — 26 2
2022–23 8 0 0 0 0 0 — 8 0
2023–24 League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 72 5 0 0 0 0 — 72 5
Career total 151 11 4 0 8 0 11 1 174 12
  1. ^ Includes FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup, Scottish League Cup
  3. ^ Appearances UEFA Europa League

Honours

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England U20

References

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  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Reading" (PDF). English Football League. p. 59. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Ovie Ejaria: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Ovie Ejaria: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  4. ^ "England's matches: The under 20's". England Football Online. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  5. ^ "England's matches: The under 21's: 2010–20". England Football Online. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Ovie Ejaria". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Rangers sign midfielder Ejaria on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  8. ^ a b "O. Ejaria: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d "Games played by Ovie Ejaria in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Ovie Ejaria, Ashley Fletcher and Lee Camp join Sunderland". BBC Sport. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  11. ^ a b c d "Games played by Ovie Ejaria in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Sunderland". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Relegated Sunderland end season with emphatic victory over champions Wolves". ESPN. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  14. ^ "Rangers sign Liverpool midfielder Ovie Ejaria on a season-long loan". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  15. ^ Lynch, David (7 June 2018). "Ejaria signs new LFC deal, joins Rangers on loan". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  16. ^ a b c d "Games played by Ovie Ejaria in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Ovie Ejaria returns to LFC from Rangers loan spell". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  18. ^ "Ovie Ejaria: Liverpool midfielder joins Reading on loan". BBC Sport. 7 January 2019.
  19. ^ "Ejaria returns to the Royals on loan!". www.readingfc.co.uk.
  20. ^ "🖋️ Contract update - New U23s contracts offered, two professional deals expire and all loanees agree to extensions until the end of July". readingfc.co.uk/. Reading F.C. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Reading sign Liverpool midfielder Ejaria" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  22. ^ "Ovie Ejaria Salary" – via aiscore.com.
  23. ^ "OVIE EJARIA DEPARTS CLUB BY MUTUAL CONSENT". readingfc.co.uk/. Reading F.C. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  24. ^ "Former Reading star reportedly on trial with Championship club". wokingham.today. Wokingham Today. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  25. ^ "Former Reading FC star hoping to revive career in Egpyt". readingchronicle.co.uk. Reading Chronicle. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  26. ^ Prentice, David (29 July 2016). "Liverpool starlet Ovie Ejaria set for international call up before making a first team appearance". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  27. ^ Lusby, Jack (30 September 2016). "Ovie Ejaria called up to England U20 squad, despite previous Nigeria allegiance". This is Anfield. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  28. ^ "Calvert-Lewin and Lookman fire Lions to win over Germany". The Football Association. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  29. ^ Jones, Neil (26 May 2017). "Liverpool pair Ovie Ejaria and Sheyi Ojo help England continue their World Cup dream". Liverpool Echo.
  30. ^ Hunter, Steve (5 June 2017). "Ejaria features as England U20s reach World Cup semi-final". Liverpool F.C.
  31. ^ "Under-20 World Cup: England beat Venezuela in final". BBC Sport. 11 June 2017.
  32. ^ "Jake Clarke-Salter, Ovie Ejaria, Ademola Lookman: Young Lions impress in England U21s victory". Sky Sports. 24 March 2018.
  33. ^ "Ejaria named in England U21s' Toulon Tournament squad". Liverpool F.C. 18 May 2018.
  34. ^ "Ejaria withdraws from England U21 squad". Liverpool F.C. 25 May 2018.
  35. ^ Williams, Tunde (9 December 2019). "Get Ejaria to join Eagles, not Eze – Rohr tells NFF".
  36. ^ "Games played by Ovie Ejaria in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  37. ^ "Under-20 World Cup: England beat Venezuela in final - BBC Sport".
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