Kazenga LuaLua

Kazenga LuaLua (born 10 December 1990) is an English–Congolese[2] professional footballer who plays as a winger for Luton Town. He previously played for Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United, Doncaster Rovers, Queens Park Rangers and Sunderland.

Kazenga LuaLua
LuaLua with Brighton & Hove Albion in 2011
Personal information
Full name Kazenga LuaLua[1]
Date of birth (1990-12-10) 10 December 1990
Place of birth Kinshasa, Zaire
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Luton Town
Number 25
Youth career
2005–2007 Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2011 Newcastle United 8 (0)
2009 → Doncaster Rovers (loan) 4 (0)
2010 → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 11 (0)
2010 → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 11 (4)
2011 → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 9 (0)
2011–2018 Brighton & Hove Albion 127 (13)
2017 → Queens Park Rangers (loan) 11 (1)
2017 → Queens Park Rangers (loan) 8 (0)
2018 Sunderland 6 (0)
2018–2019 Luton Town 22 (2)
2019– Luton Town 44 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:16, 20 January 2021 (UTC)

Career

Newcastle United and loan spells

Born in Kinshasa, LuaLua moved to England shortly after his birth. He moved to Newcastle as a youngster, as his older brother Lomana LuaLua was signed by Newcastle United. Kazenga progressed in Newcastle's youth academy, and played for the reserve team. He was called up to the senior squad for the first time for the FA Cup third-round game against Birmingham City on 6 January 2007. At just 16 years and 27 days old, LuaLua would have been the youngest player to play for Newcastle: the record is currently held by Steve Watson.[3]

He was part of the Newcastle youth team that reached the semi-final of the FA Youth Cup in the 2005–06 season. LuaLua finally made his first-team debut on 6 January 2008, coming on in the 74th minute of an FA Cup third-round game against Stoke City as a substitute for Damien Duff.[4]

LuaLua made his Premier League debut on 19 January 2008, coming on as a substitute again for Duff at St James' Park in a match against Bolton Wanderers and went on to make several appearances for the first team later that season.

Loan to Doncaster Rovers

In January 2009 LuaLua signed for Doncaster Rovers of the Championship on loan until the end of the season.[5] All four of his appearances game in the league where the Yorkshire club finished 14th of the 2008–09 Championship season.

Loan to Brighton & Hove Albion

On 9 February 2010, LuaLua joined League One side Brighton & Hove Albion on loan, initially for one month.[6] LuaLua was recommended to Brighton manager Gus Poyet by Dennis Wise.[7] LuaLua rejoined Brighton on loan for four months on 30 August 2010. He then made his debut back at Brighton on 11 September 2010 and made it one to remember scoring a rocket 25-yard free kick in style and celebrating with his famous double backflip.[8] He won the Football League Young Player of the Month in October 2010.[9] On 13 November LuaLua broke his leg playing against Hartlepool United in a League One game.[10] LuaLua shortly returned to Newcastle to make his recovery, and expressed his hope that he may play again in the 2010–11 season.[11] Gus Poyet stated that LuaLua played a key part in Brighton's promotion to the Championship.

Back to Newcastle after injury

LuaLua remained at Newcastle for treatment and made his first Premier League appearance of the season in a 2–2 draw with Chelsea on the penultimate week of the season. It was LuaLua's dangerous run and cut inside around Branislav Ivanović which won Newcastle the corner leading to their late equaliser.[12]

Brighton & Hove Albion

LuaLua rejoined Brighton on a six-month loan with a view to a permanent deal on 16 July 2011.[13] He signed a permanent deal with Brighton for an undisclosed fee on 21 November 2011.[14] LuaLua scored his first goal as a permanent Brighton player on 14 February 2012, a long-range free kick that tied a home match against Millwall 2–2. LuaLua's goal came two minutes before the end and salvaged a point for Brighton. The next Sunday, LuaLua scored a free-kick into the Kop End at Anfield in the FA Cup, against Liverpool as Brighton lost 6–1. With competition from fellow wingers Craig Noone, Will Buckley and Vicente, LuaLua swapped between starting and coming off the bench as an impact substitute in the following weeks.

LuaLua featured regularly for Brighton in the 2014–15 season, making 38 appearances in all competitions and scoring four goals.[15]

On 7 August 2015, LuaLua scored the opening goal of the 2015–16 Football League Championship, which eventually was the winning goal against Nottingham Forest.[16]

LuaLua made a total of 22 appearances in all competitions for Brighton in the 2015–16 season, scoring four goals.[17]

LuaLua found opportunities limited at Brighton in the 2016–17 season as the south coast club secured promotion to the Premier League, only featuring for the Seagulls five times throughout the first half of the season in all competitions, and he did not make a senior appearance for the club after the month of August.[18]

Queens Park Rangers (loan)

On 10 January 2017, LuaLua joined Queens Park Rangers on loan until the end of the 2016/2017 season.[19] LuaLua scored one goal in 11 games throughout his loan spell, a backheel against Preston North End.[20]

After Brighton's promotion to the Premier League, LuaLua was deemed surplus to requirements, and as such he re-joined QPR on a second loan spell until January 2018.[21] The loan move was terminated on 1 December 2017, with LuaLua making eight league appearances for the R's in his second spell at the club.[22]

Sunderland

On 25 January 2018, Brighton and LuaLua reached a mutual agreement to terminate his contract, with it having been set to expire in the summer of 2018.[23] He subsequently joined Sunderland on a free transfer, signing a short term contract with the Black Cats until the end of the 2017–18 season.[24] At the end of the 2017–18 season, following Sunderland's relegation, he was released by the club.[25]

Luton Town

On 26 September 2018, LuaLua signed for Luton Town on a contract until the end of the 2018–19 season.[26] He scored his first goal for Luton in a 3–0 EFL Trophy victory over Milton Keynes Dons on 9 October.[27] His first league goal for the club was a 94th-minute equaliser in a 2–2 away draw with Walsall on 29 December to complete a second half comeback from 2–0 down and extend the club's unbeaten league run to 12 matches.[27][28] LuaLua made 22 league appearances and scored two goals as Luton were promoted to the Championship as League One champions.[27][29] He left the club at the end of the season after failing to agree a new contract.[30]

LuaLua rejoined Luton on 22 July 2019 after signing a contract of undisclosed length.[31] His first match of the 2019–20 season came in a 3–1 home win over Ipswich Town in the first round of the EFL Cup on 13 August, in which he was substituted at half-time.[32][33] LuaLua scored the only goal of the game away against fellow relegation threatened Hull City on the second to last game of the season, securing 3 points in attempt to escape the drop.[34] He came on as a sub on the last game of the season in a 3–2 victory over Blackburn Rovers helping The Hatters see out the match and avoid relegation.[35]

Personal life

He is the younger brother of DR Congo international striker Lomana Trésor LuaLua. He is also the cousin of striker Trésor Kandol and Everton midfielder Yannick Bolasie, and also the brother-in-law of French striker Yann Kermorgant.

Career statistics
As of match played 24 January 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Newcastle United 2007–08[36] Premier League 203000—50
2008–09[37] Premier League 301000—40
2009–10[38] Championship 100020—30
2010–11[39] Premier League 200010—30
2011–12[40] Premier League 000000—00
Total 804030—150
Doncaster Rovers (loan) 2008–09[37] Championship 40———40
Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 2009–10[38] League One 110———110
2010–11[39] League One 114—00—114
2011–12[40] Championship 90—20—110
Brighton & Hove Albion 2011–12[40][41] Championship 18121——202
2012–13[42] Championship 22520002[lower-alpha 1]0265
2013–14[43] Championship 32140102[lower-alpha 1]1392
2014–15[15] Championship 3430041—384
2015–16[17] Championship 18310211[lower-alpha 1]0224
2016–17[18] Championship 300021—51
2017–18 Premier League 0000——00
Total 15817911135118322
Brighton & Hove Albion Reserves & Academy 2016–17 ———2[lower-alpha 2]020
Queens Park Rangers (loan) 2016–17[18] Championship 111———111
2017–18[44] Championship 80—00—80
Total 191000000191
Sunderland 2017–18 Championship 60———60
Luton Town 2018–19[27] League One 22230—3[lower-alpha 2]1283
2019–20[32] Championship 2930020—313
2020–21[45] Championship 1512030—201
Total 666505031797
Career total 2612418119310230830
  1. Appearances in Championship play-offs
  2. Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

Club

Brighton & Hove Albion

Luton Town

References
  1. "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Steve Watson Soccernet profile". ESPN. 16 July 2002. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  4. Craig Hope (7 January 2008). "Sam Speaks: Cup Kids A Big Bonus". Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  5. "Doncaster sign Premier League duo". BBC News. 26 March 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  6. "Albion sign Toon talent". The Argus. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  7. "Newcastle star joins Brighton on loan". Mirrorfootball.co.uk. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  8. "Poyet's Delighted by LuaLua Return". Seagulls.co.uk. 30 August 2010. Archived from the original on 1 September 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  9. LuaLua FL Young Player For October Archived 23 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine Brighton and Hove Albion Official Website, 22 November 2010
  10. "Brighton & Hove Albion rocked by Kazenga LuaLua injury". BBC News. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  11. "LuaLua Suffers Broken Leg". Newcastle United F.C. 15 November 2010. Archived from the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  12. "Chelsea 2–2 Newcastle". BBC Sport. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  13. "Seagulls swoop for LuaLua". Sky Sports. 16 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  14. "Brighton & Hove Albion complete Kazenga LuaLua signing". BBC Sport. 21 November 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  15. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  16. "Brighton defeat Nottingham in the season opener". BBC Sport. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  17. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  18. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  19. "Kazenga LuaLua: QPR sign Brighton winger on loan until end of season". BBC Sport. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  20. "Preston North End 2–1 Queens Park Rangers". BBC Sport. 25 February 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  21. "QPR sign Kazenga LuaLua on loan". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  22. "LuaLua returns to Brighton". QPR Official Site. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  23. "LUALUA LEAVES ALBION". Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club. 25 January 2018.
  24. "Sunderland sign LuaLua". Sunderland Association Football Club. 25 January 2018.
  25. "Sunderland sell Fabio Borini to AC Milan and release several others". BBC Sport. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  26. "Kazenga LuaLua: Luton Town sign former Brighton and Newcastle winger". BBC Sport. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  27. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  28. "LuaLua strikes to earn Luton a last-gasp leveller at Saddlers". Luton Today. 29 December 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  29. "Luton Town 3–1 Oxford United: Hatters clinch League One title with victory". BBC Sport. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  30. Simmonds, Mike (6 July 2019). "Disappointment for LuaLua as he reveals Luton exit". Luton Today. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  31. "Kazenga LuaLua: Luton Town re-sign winger". BBC Sport. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  32. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  33. "Luton Town 3–1 Ipswich Town: Hatters too strong for Tractor Boys". BBC Sport. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  34. "Hull City 0-1 Luton Town: Grant McCann praying for 'miracle' after Kazenga LuaLua boosts Hatters' chances - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  35. "Luton Town 3-2 Blackburn Rovers: Nathan Jones' Hatters win to avoid relegation - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  36. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  37. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  38. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  39. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  40. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  41. "Brighton & Hove Albion complete Kazenga LuaLua signing". BBC Sport. 21 November 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  42. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  43. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  44. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  45. "Games played by Kazenga LuaLua in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  46. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2011). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2011–2012. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 39, 104–105. ISBN 978-0-7553-6231-8.
  47. "League One: 2018/19: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
    "Luton: Squad details: 2018/19". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
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