Frankie Musonda
Frankie Chisenga Musonda (born 12 December 1997) is a professional footballer who sometimes plays as a defender for Scottish Championship club Ayr United. Born in England, he plays for the Zambia national team. CareerLuton Town and loan spellsBorn in Bedford, Bedfordshire,[2] Musonda Chisenga joined Luton Town in 2006 aged eight and progressed through the club's youth system.[3] During his time in the club's academy he played in numerous positions, including as a striker, before settling on a central defensive role.[4] He was part of the under-11 team which defeated Bayern Munich 3–2 to win the Aarau Masters in 2009.[4][5] Musonda was promoted to Luton's under-18 team as a first year scholar in 2014 and was named captain.[3] He began 2015–16 playing for both the under-18 team and the development squad alongside senior professionals.[4] After leading the under-18's on a 16-match unbeaten run, during which the team conceded only seven goals, he signed a one-and-a-half-year professional contract with Luton on 4 November 2015.[4] Musonda continued to captain the under-18 team which went on to win the Youth Alliance South East title and the Youth Alliance Cup,[6][7][8] and also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup, in which they lost 1–0 to Blackburn Rovers.[7][9] Musonda first became involved with the Luton first-team when he was named on the bench on his eighteenth birthday for a League Two match against Northampton Town, though he remained an unused substitute.[2][10] On 23 January 2016, Musonda was introduced as a 94th-minute substitute for Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu in a 2–0 win away to Mansfield Town to make his professional debut.[11] He made his second appearance of the season on 9 April, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute for Dan Potts in a 2–0 defeat at home to Accrington Stanley.[12] Musonda was introduced as an 89th-minute substitute for Jake Howells in Luton's final match of the season, a 4–1 win at home to Exeter City.[13] Musonda scored his first professional goal on his first appearance of 2016–17 in a 2–1 win away to Gillingham in the EFL Trophy on 30 August 2016.[14] He made four further appearances in the EFL Trophy, before joining National League club Braintree Town on 3 March 2017 on an initial one-month loan.[15] Having made his debut a day later in a 2–1 home defeat to Wrexham, Musonda finished his loan spell at Braintree with three appearances.[16] Shortly after the start of 2017–18, Musonda signed a new contract with Luton on 9 August 2017 to keep him at the club until the summer of 2019, with the option of a further year.[17] He joined National League South club Oxford City on 9 February 2018 on a one-month youth loan and made his debut after starting in a 4–1 home win over Hemel Hempstead Town a day later.[18][19] The loan was extended on 16 March until the end of the season.[20] Musonda made 13 appearances and scored one goal as Oxford finished 16th in the National League South.[21][22] His contract with Luton was extended by a further year at the end of the season after a promotion clause was triggered as a result of the club's promotion to League One.[23] He rejoined Oxford City on 26 October 2018 on loan for a month.[24] Musonda's second loan spell with Oxford ended having scored one goal from seven appearances.[25] He was loaned to another National League South club, Hemel Hempstead Town, on 9 January 2019 until the end of 2018–19.[26] Musonda joined St Albans City of the National League South on 18 October 2019 on loan until January 2020.[27] His debut came a day later in a 1–0 home defeat to Bath City and made 12 further appearances, completing the loan with 13 appearances and one goal before returning to Luton.[28][29] He returned to St Albans on 6 March 2020 on loan until the end of the season.[30] Musonda was released by Luton when his contract expired in June 2020.[31] Raith RoversMusonda signed for newly promoted Scottish Championship club Raith Rovers on 11 August 2020 on a one-year contract.[32] Ayr UnitedOn 22 June 2022, Musonda joined Scottish Championship side Ayr United on a two-year deal.[33] International careerMusonda was born in England to a Zambian father and English mother. He was called up to represent the Zambia national team in March 2022.[34] He debuted for Zambia in a friendly 3–1 win over the Congo on 25 March 2022, scoring his side's third goal on his debut.[35] Career statisticsClub
International
HonoursRaith Rovers References
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