Pierre Fonkeu

Pierre Fonkeu
Personal information
Full name Pierre Xavier Fonkeu[1]
Date of birth (1997-07-10) 10 July 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Belgium
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Maidstone United
Youth career
–2017 Club Brugge
2017–2019 Norwich City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Lens II 1 (0)
2020 Beroe 3 (0)
2021 Weymouth 15 (0)
2022 Hemel Hempstead Town 11 (2)
2022–2023 Dartford 43 (10)
2023–2024 Oxford City 16 (3)
2024 → Hemel Hempstead Town (loan) 5 (1)
2024– Maidstone United 12 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:10, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

Pierre Xavier Fonkeu (born 10 July 1997) is a Cameroonian footballer who plays as a forward for Maidstone United.

Early life

Fonkeu was born in Belgium.[2]

Club career

Having come through the youth ranks at Club Brugge, Fonkeu joined Norwich City on a two-year contract on 31 August 2017 following a trial period with the club.[3][4] He was released by the club in summer 2019 following the expiry of his contract.[5]

On 27 June 2019, it was announced that Fonkeu had signed for RC Lens, initially joining their reserve team in the Championnat National 2.[6] However, he played just once for their reserve side and joined Bulgarian First League club Beroe in February 2020.[7][8] He played 3 times for Beroe but was released at the end of the season.[7][9]

Following a trial spell at Grimsby Town, Fonkeu was offered a short-term deal with the Mariners, however this was held up due to delays in obtaining international clearance, and fell through after the departure of manager Ian Holloway.[10] Fonkeu signed for National League club Weymouth on a permanent deal on 30 January 2021.[2] He made his debut for Weymouth as a substitute in a 1–0 home defeat to Notts County later that day.[11] He made 15 appearances for Weymouth during the 2020–21 season.[7] He was released by the club at the end of the season following the expiry of his contract.[12]

On 25 February 2022, Fonkeu joined National League South side Hemel Hempstead Town.[13] He made 11 appearances and scored twice during the 2021–22 season.[7]

On 1 August 2022, Fonkeu joined Dartford ahead of the 2022–23 season.[14]

On 14 July 2023, Fonkeu signed for Oxford City.[15]

On 12 March 2024, Fonkeu joined Hemel Hempstead Town on loan.[16]

In June 2024, Fonkeu joined National League South side Maidstone United.[17]

International career

He has represented Cameroon at under-23 level and was part of their squad for the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations, where he was an unused substitute in all three matches.[2][18]

Career statistics

As of match played 16 November 2024[7]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lens II 2019–20 Championnat National 2 1 0 — — 0 0 1 0
Beroe 2019–20 Bulgarian First League 3 0 0 0 — 0 0 3 0
Weymouth 2020–21 National League 15 0 0 0 — 0 0 15 0
Hemel Hempstead Town 2021–22 National League South 11 2 0 0 — 0 0 11 2
Dartford 2022–23 National League South 43 10 1 0 — 6[a][b][c][d] 1 50 11
Oxford City 2023–24 National League 16 3 2 0 — 0 0 18 3
Hemel Hempstead Town (loan) 2023–24 National League South 5 1 — — — 5 1
Maidstone United 2024–25 National League South 12 0 2 0 — 1[b] 0 15 0
Career total 106 16 5 0 0 0 7 1 118 17
  1. ^ Three appearances and one goal in the London Senior Cup
  2. ^ a b One appearance in the FA Trophy
  3. ^ One appearance in the Kent Senior Cup
  4. ^ One appearance in the National League South Play-Offs

References

  1. ^ Freezer, David (13 July 2017). "Trial players impress for Norwich City U23s in friendly at King's Lynn". The Pink Un. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Walton, Neil (30 January 2021). "Weymouth complete signing of wing wizard Pierre Fonkeu". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  3. ^ Freezer, David (31 August 2017). "Norwich City complete signing of former Club Brugge striker Pierre Fonkeu". The Pink Un. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  4. ^ "City sign Pierre Fonkeu". www.canaries.co.uk. Norwich City F.C. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  5. ^ Freezer, David (9 May 2019). "Abrahams and Fonkeu among academy players set to leave City this summer". The Pink Un. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  6. ^ Freezer, David (27 June 2019). "Released striker signs for French club Lens after Canaries exit". The Pink Un. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e Pierre Fonkeu at Soccerway. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  8. ^ Esanji, Isaac (17 February 2020). "Pierre Fonkeu quitte le RC Lens pour la Bulgarie". Acto Cameroon (in French). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Берое се раздели с камерунец". topsport.bg (in Bulgarian). 8 May 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  10. ^ Green, Trevor (21 December 2020). "Grimsby Town waiting on clearance for former Norwich City forward Pierre Fonkeu". GrimsbyLive. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  11. ^ Walton, Neil (30 January 2021). "Terras' winning run ends as Notts County claim victory". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  12. ^ Walton, Neil (1 June 2021). "Jordan Ngalo and Pierre Fonkeu depart Terras after contracts expire". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  13. ^ @hemelfc (25 February 2022). "New Signing: Introducing Pierre Fonkeu! The 24 year old striker formerly of Club Brugge, Norwich and Weymouth joins the Tudors as Mark Jones continues to assemble his Tudors side" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "NEW SIGNING: Pierre Fonkeu". Dartford Official Website. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Oxford City sign ex-Norwich City forward Pierre Fonkeu". Oxford Mail. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Pierre Fonkeu joins Hemel Hempstead on loan". Oxford City Official Site. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Fonkeu bolsters squad". maidstoneunited.co.uk. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  18. ^ Enow, Njie (30 October 2019). "Nice refuse to release Cameroon's Ganago for Under-23 Afcon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2021.