Moses Simon

Moses Daddy Simon (born 12 July 1995) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 side FC Nantes and the Nigeria national team, after coming through the Ajax youth academy as a youngster.[3]

Moses Simon
Simon with Gent in 2015
Personal information
Full name Moses Daddy-Ajala Simon[1]
Date of birth (1995-07-12) 12 July 1995[2]
Place of birth Jos, Nigeria
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Forward, winger
Club information
Current team
 Nantes
Number 27
Youth career
2003–2013 GBS Academy
2013 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Trenčín 33 (13)
2015–2018 Gent 76 (16)
2018–2020 Levante 19 (1)
2019–2020 → Nantes (loan) 26 (11)
2020– Nantes 13 (2)
National team‡
2013–2015 Nigeria U20 5 (0)
2015– Nigeria 33 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:06, 30 July 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11:06, 30 July 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Born in Jos, Simon is a product of the famed GBS Academy, the same football academy in Nigeria that produced the likes of Ahmed Musa.[4] He was linked with Nigerian Premier League club Kaduna United, as many professional clubs around the world were also eager to sign him.[5] On 10 May 2013, it was announced that Simon had signed a pre-contractual agreement with Dutch club AFC Ajax to join them in pre-season training, having previously been linked with Liverpool F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur.[6] He made his first appearance for Ajax on 13 July 2013 in pre-season friendly match against De Graafschap, coming on as a substitute player and scoring the third and final goal in the 64th minute of the match, in a 3–0 away win.[7] He made a further appearance on 17 July, playing for the reserves team Jong Ajax in a pre-season friendly match against Voorschoten '97, scoring the second goal in the 5–0 home win.[8] On 25 July 2013, it was announced that Ajax would not sign the young Nigerian, ultimately waiving him from the pre-season roster.[9][10] After the announcement discussions commenced with AS Trenčín; Ajax partner club in Slovakia, which is owned by former Ajax player Tschen La Ling.[11]

AS Trenčín

On 13 January 2014, Simon signed three-year contract for Slovak side AS Trenčín.[12][13] He would join his compatriot Kingsley Madu.[14] He made his league debut in a 1–1 draw against MFK Košice starting on the right wing alongside Gino van Kessel who was on loan from Ajax.[15] He made his club international debut during the Trenčín's 2014–15 UEFA Europa League campaign, when he was introduced during the second preliminary round of the competition, in the home match against Vojvodina Novi Sad from Serbia (played at the stadium in Dubnica, Slovakia). Simon scored a hat trick on his debut in the 4–0 win at home.[16] AS Trenčín would eventually get eliminated in the following round, drawing at home, and falling 2–1 away against Hull City.[17]

In October 2014 ESPN sports prepared a scouting report on Moses Simon and the report linked the winger with a move to Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Hull City along with a potential return to Ajax.[18] The situation evolved into a bidding war between Dutch club SC Heerenveen and K.A.A. Gent, with the later contractually securing the winger for three years.[19]

Gent
Simon with KAA Gent, 2015

On 6 January 2015, it was announced that K.A.A. Gent had signed Moses Simon to a three-year contract.[20] He made his debut for Gent on 17 January 2015 in a 3–1 win against Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz in league play.[21] His second appearance occurred four days later in a 1–0 home win against Sporting Lokeren in the Belgian Cup, in which Simon was sent off 30 seconds after he entered the field.[22] In his third league game, again versus Sporting Lokeren, Simon scored a hat trick after which he was named Belgian league player of the week. He quickly became a key player in coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck's formation and helped Gent win their first ever national Championship title in May 2015.[23] Two months later, Simon assisted Laurent Depoitre's winning goal in the 2015 Belgian Super Cup against cup winners Club Brugge.[24]

Levante

On 6 August 2018, Simon joined Spanish La Liga side Levante on a five-year contract.[25] In March 2019 he said he was glad to be playing for the team.[26]

Nantes

On 15 August 2019, Simon was loaned out to Ligue 1 club FC Nantes.[27] At the end of the season, Nantes triggered the option to buy in Simon’s loan. He signed a four-year contract with the club.[28]

International career

Simon received his first call-up to the Nigeria national team by coach Daniel Amokachi in March 2015 and made his debut on the 25th of the same month in an international friendly against Uganda, when he replaced Anthony Ujah after 59 minutes in the game.[29] Simon scored his first goal for Nigeria in an international friendly against Niger on 8 September 2015, the second in a 2–0 win.[30] He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[31]

In May 2018, he was named in Nigeria’s preliminary 30-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[32] However, he did not make the final 23 due to injury.[33] He was included in the country's 23-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.[34]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 30 July 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Trenčín 2013–14[35] Slovak Super Liga 147———147
2014–15[35] Slovak Super Liga 196214[lower-alpha 1]3—2510
Total 33132143—3917
Gent 2014–15[36] Belgian Pro League 9630—8[lower-alpha 2]1207
2015–16[36] Belgian Pro League 242305[lower-alpha 3]09[lower-alpha 4]1413
2016–17[36] Belgian First Division A 2332010[lower-alpha 1]07[lower-alpha 2]2425
2017–18[36] Belgian First Division A 205202[lower-alpha 1]09[lower-alpha 2]1336
Total 761610017033513621
Levante 2018–19[35] La Liga 19140——231
Nantes (loan) 2019–20[35] Ligue 1 26544——309
Career total 1543520521333522848
  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearances in Belgian league playoffs
  3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. Appearances in Belgian league playoffs and Belgian Super Cup

International
As of match played 30 July 2020[37]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Nigeria 201583
201650
201751
201830
2019121
Total335

International goals
As of match played 27 March 2018. Nigeria score listed first, score column indicates score after each Simon goal.[37]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 September 2015Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, Nigeria4 Niger2–02–0Friendly
2 11 October 2015Edmond Machtens Stadium, Brussels, Belgium6 Cameroon2–03–0Friendly
3 17 November 2015Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, Nigeria8 Swaziland1–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 4 September 2017Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaoundé, Cameroon17 Cameroon1–01–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 21 March 2019Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, Nigeria22 Seychelles3–13–12019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Gent

References
  1. "Acta del Partido celebrado el 18 de mayo de 2019, en Valencia" [Minutes of the Match held on 18 May 2019, in Valencia] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  2. DADDY SIMON MOSES 8 March 2014, corgonliga.sk
  3. Moses Daddy-Ajala Simon profile 14 February 2014, Soccerway.com
  4. Atkins, Chris (28 October 2014). "Nigerian striker Moses Simon making his name at Slovakian side AS Trencin". ESPN. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  5. NPFL clubs vie for teenage star 'Moses Daddy' 5 March 2013, Supersport.com
  6. Ajax sign Nigerian sensation 10 May 2013, Supersport.com
  7. Ajax defeats De Graafschap after win at RKC Archived 21 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine 14 July 2013, Ajax.nl
  8. Jong Ajax wint ruim van Voorschoten 17 July 2014, Ajax Showtime
  9. Moses Daddy-Ajala Simon niet onder contract bij Ajax Archived 23 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine 25 July 2014, Ajaxcafe.nl
  10. Official: Ajax Amsterdam Did Not Offer Moses Daddy-Ajala Simon A Contract 25 July 2014, All Nigeria Soccer
  11. Moses Daddy naar AS Trencin 9 January 2014, Ajax Showtime
  12. Nigeria U20 duo join Slovakian club 13 January 2014, supersport.com
  13. Mladí Nigérijčania podpísali s AS Trenčín zmluvy na tri roky 14 January 2014, profutbal.sk
  14. Mladí Nigérijčania podpísali s AS Trenčín zmluvy na tri roky, Profutbal.sk, citováno 9. 7. 2014 (in Slovak)
  15. MFK Košice VS. Trenčín 1-1 14 January 2014, profutbal.sk
  16. Predkolo EL: Košice prehrali, Trenčín vyhral 4:0, Trnava remizovala, SME.sk, citováno 16. 7. 2014 (in Slovak)
  17. Angličan Lawrence uspel na skúške v AS Trenčín, Profutbal.sk, citováno 13. 8. 2014 (in Slovak)
  18. "Nigerian striker Moses Simon making his name at Slovakian side AS Trencin". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  19. "[Update] Daddy voor drie jaar naar Gent". www.ajaxshowtime.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  20. 'Ajax en Heerenveen vissen achter het net' 6 January 2015, Voetbal.com
  21. Moses Simon debuts in Gent win 18 January 2015, Africanfootball.com
  22. Moses Simon red carded in Belgium 22 January 2015 SL10.ng
  23. KAA Gent are the Champions of Belgium Archived 9 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine 21 May 2015 KAA Gent
  24. KAA Gent win Super Cup after beating Club Brugge Archived 16 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine 16 August 2015 KAA Gent
  25. "Moses Simon se compromete con el Levante por las próximas cinco temporadas" [Moses Simon joins Levante for the next five seasons] (in Spanish). Levante UD. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  26. Oluwashina Okeleji (17 March 2019). "Nigeria's Moses Simon enjoying regular football with Levante". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  27. "Spain's Levante loan Nigeria's Moses Simon to Nantes". BBC Sport. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  28. "Moses Simon: Nantes sign Nigeria winger permanently from Levante". Goal.com. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  29. Nigeria vs. Uganda match report 26 March 2015 soccerway.com
  30. Nigeria vs. Niger match report 8 September 2015 soccerway.com
  31. Oluwashina Okeleji (24 June 2016). "Kelechi Iheanacho included in Nigeria's Olympics squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  32. Wagih, Ahmed (15 May 2018). "Nigeria announce preliminary World Cup squad". KingFut. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  33. "World Cup 2018: Arsenal's Iwobi in Nigeria's 23-man squad". BBC Sport. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  34. "Nigeria: Super Eagles' Team List for Afcon 2019". allAfrica.com. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  35. "M. Simon Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  36. "Moses Simon » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  37. "Moses Simon". National Football Teams. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
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