Neeskens Kebano

Neeskens Kebano (born 10 March 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Championship club Middlesbrough, on loan from Fulham. Kebano is a former French youth international having earned caps at under-17, under-18 level, and under-19 level. He made his youth international debut at the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

Neeskens Kebano
Kebano with Paris Saint-Germain in 2011
Personal information
Full name Neeskens Kebano[1]
Date of birth (1992-03-10) 10 March 1992
Place of birth Montereau, France
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Middlesbrough
(on loan from Fulham)
Number 21
Youth career
1996–2006 ASA Montereau
2006–2011 Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2013 Paris Saint-Germain 3 (0)
2012–2013 → Caen (loan) 12 (1)
2013–2015 Charleroi 64 (18)
2015–2016 Genk 37 (6)
2016– Fulham 82 (12)
2021– → Middlesbrough (loan) 0 (0)
National team‡
2008–2009 France U17 5 (1)
2009–2010 France U18 8 (2)
2010–2011 France U19 10 (1)
2011–2012 France U20 6 (0)
2014– DR Congo 28 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:02, 26 December 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2020

Club career

Early career

Kebano was born in the commune of Montereau-Fault-Yonne, Île-de-France. He was given his first name as an homage to the former Dutch international midfielder Johan Neeskens whom his father, Nestor Kebano, admired.[2][3][4] Kebano was immersed into football at an early age and began his career playing for hometown club ASA Montereau.[2] While at Montereau, he also competed in judo before opting to focus on football.[3] In 2004, Kebano was among a host of players attempting to earn selection to the Clairefontaine academy.[5] While at the academy's detection camp, he drew interest from Paris Saint-Germain scout Pierre Reynaud. The club contacted the player and offered him a trial at the club, which he accepted. After spending the 2005 season playing at Montereau, Kebano was contacted again by Paris Saint-Germain who brought him in for a second trial in December 2005. In the following January, the club signed him on an aspirant (youth) contract and he joined the club in July 2006.[5]

Paris Saint-Germain

Kebano began his Paris Saint-Germain career at the club's youth academy in the Camp des Loges. He was placed on the club's under-14 team and formed friendships with youth and international teammates Jimmy Kamghain, Alassane Tambe, and Bastien Héry.[3] The combination of the four were particularly instrumental in their youth team's success. With the under-14 team, Kebano won the Championnat Fédéraux de 14 ans.[5] In the next season with the club's under-15 team, he played on the team that won the league and cup double. The team won its league, the Division d'Honneur, and also captured the Coupe de Paris.[5] At under-16 level, Paris Saint-Germain and Kebano won the Championnat National des 16 ans. Though, he is still eligible to compete at youth level, ahead of the 2010–11 season, Kebano was promoted to the club's Championnat de France amateur team in the fourth division. He was also placed onto the club's squad for the UEFA Europa League being assigned the number 38 shirt by manager Antoine Kombouaré.

Kebano made his amateur debut on 8 August 2010 in a 1–0 victory over Bourg-Péronnas.[6] The following week, he scored his first amateur goal in a 4–1 win over Monts d'Or Azergues.[7] After rotating between the club's reserve and Coupe Gambardella teams in the fall campaign, in December 2011, Kebano was called up to the senior team for the first time to participate in the club's final Europa League group stage match against Ukrainian club Karpaty Lviv. He appeared on the substitute's bench, but failed to make his debut as Paris Saint-Germain and Karpaty drew 1–1.[8] After the winter break, Kebano returned to the club's reserve team and spent January playing with the team. In February 2011, he was called back up to the senior team after being named to the 18-man roster to play amateur club Martigues in the Coupe de France. On 2 February, Kebano made his professional debut in the match appearing as a substitute for Mevlüt Erdinç in a 4–1 victory.[9][10] He scored his first professional goal for the club on 2 March 2011 in a 2–0 win over Le Mans in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France.[11]

On 14 August 2012, Kebano was loaned to Ligue 2 side SM Caen. As the 2012–13 season ended, Kebano was released to Charleroi.

Fulham

On 26 August 2016, Kebano signed for Fulham on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, with a club option for an additional 12 months.[12] He scored his first goal for Fulham in a 3–2 win against Wigan Athletic on 11 February 2017.[13]

On 27 July 2020, in the first leg of the 2020 Championship play-offs semi-final against Cardiff City, Kebano scored directly from a free kick in his third consecutive match,[14] becoming the first player to achieve this feat in the top four English divisions since Wayne Rooney.[15]

Middlesbrough (loan)

On 1 February 2021, Kebano joined Championship side Middlesbrough on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[16]

International career

Kebano is now a DR Congo international player. His first game was against Ivory Coast in Abidjan on 15 October 2014. His team won 3–4 and he scored the very first goal of the game after 23 minutes. In the past he was a French youth international having earned caps at under-17, under-18 level, and under-19 level. With the under-17 team, he went unnoticed by coach Philippe Bergeroo until the Elite Round of qualification for the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Championship when he was finally called up to the team.[17] Kebano made his youth international debut on 24 March 2009 in the team's first Elite Round group stage match against Belarus.[18] He appeared in the team's next group stage match against Norway and, after France qualified for the competition, was named to the team to participate in the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[19] Kebano appeared in all three group stage matches as France were eliminated without procuring a victory. In the team's final group stage match against Italy, Kebano scored the opening goal in a 2–1 defeat.[19]

With the under-18 team, Kebano made his debut on 27 October 2009 in a friendly match against Denmark.[20] He scored his first goal for the team on 10 December in a 1–1 draw with the Ukraine.[21] At the 2010 edition of the Copa del Atlantico on the Canary Islands, Kebano scored the second goal in a 4–2 rout of Spain.[22] He finished the under-18 campaign with eight appearances and two goals. Kebano was called up to the under-19 team in August 2010 to play in the Sendai Cup in Japan. He appeared in all three matches as France finished in third place. In October 2010, he played in qualification matches for the 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. On 10 October, in the team's second group stage match against Montenegro, Kebano scored the opening goal in a 2–0 victory.[23]

Career statistics

Club
As of 14 January 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Paris Saint-Germain 2010–11[24] Ligue 1 3021002[lower-alpha 1]00071
2011–12[24] 0000002[lower-alpha 1]00020
Total 302100400091
Caen 2012–13[24] Ligue 2 1212120–00162
Charleroi 2013–14[24] Pro League 26511–––276
2014–15[24] 331231–––3613
2015–16[24] 5100–4[lower-alpha 1]1–92
Total 6418420041007221
Genk 2015–16[24] Pro League 34652–0000398
2016–17[24] 3000–4[lower-alpha 1]10071
Total 37652004100469
Fulham 2016–17[25] Championship 2861010––306
2017–18[26] 2631010–10293
2018–19[27] Premier League 701010–0090
2019–20[28] Championship 1630000–32195
2020–21 Premier League 501130——91
Total 8212413000429615
Career total 19837177501220023948
  1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International goals
Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first.[29]
List of international goals scored by Neeskens Kebano
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
115 October 2014Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast Ivory Coast1–04–32015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
24 September 2016Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, DR Congo Central African Republic1–04–12017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
313 November 2016Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea Guinea1–12–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
420 January 2017Stade d'Oyem, Oyem, Gabon Ivory Coast1–02–22017 Africa Cup of Nations
511 November 2017Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, DR Congo Guinea3–13–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
617 November 2020Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola Angola1–01–02021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Fulham

Individual

References
  1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Fulham" (PDF). English Football League. p. 16. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  2. "Neeskens Kebano: "le PSG est une fierté teintée de lucidité"" (in French). Montereau-Fault-Yonne. 25 September 2006. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  3. "Kebano: "Etre digne de cette convocation"" (in French). French Football Federation. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  4. "Neeskens Kebano en hommage à Johan Neeskens". Espoirs du Football (in French). 26 March 2009. Archived from the original on 18 January 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  5. "Interview N°213: Neeskens Kebano" (in French). Les Titis du PSG. 10 October 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  6. "Paris SG B v. Bourg-Péronnas Match Report". Foot-National. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  7. "Monts d'Or Azergues v. Paris SG B Match Report". Foot-National. 15 August 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  8. "Karpaty and PSG make their point" (in French). Union of European Football Associations. 15 December 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  9. "Neeskens Kebano débute en pro". Espoirs du Football (in French). 2 February 2011. Archived from the original on 3 February 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  10. "Martigues v. Paris Saint-Germain Match Report". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 2 February 2011. Archived from the original on 30 April 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  11. "La jeunesse parisienne au pouvoir". RMC Sport (in French). 2 March 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  12. "Neeskens Kebano: Fulham sign DR Congo forward from Genk". BBC Sport. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  13. "Fulham 3–2 Wigan". BBC Sport. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  14. Fayiga, Kunle (27 July 2020). "Onomah and Kebano strikes give Fulham away goal advantage over Cardiff City". Goal.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  15. "Kebano's Contract Extension". Fulham FC. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  16. "Boro Make Deadline Day Swoop For Neeskens Kebano". Middlesbrough F.C. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  17. "Un nouveau Kebano". French Football Federation. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  18. "Late goals add gloss to France's winning start". Union of European Football Associations. 24 March 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  19. "France step on to Group 7 summit". Union of European Football Associations. 26 March 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  20. "France v. Denmark Match Report". French Football Federation. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  21. "Ukraine v. France Match Report". French Football Federation. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  22. "Spain v. France Match Report". French Football Federation. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  23. "France v. Montenegro Match Report". Union of European Football Associations. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  24. Neeskens Kebano at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  25. "Games played by Neeskens Kebano in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  26. "Games played by Neeskens Kebano in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  27. "Games played by Neeskens Kebano in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  28. "Games played by Neeskens Kebano in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  29. "Neeskens, Kebano". National Football Teams. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  30. Stevens, Rob (4 August 2020). "Brentford 1–2 Fulham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  31. "Fulham complete £3.8m Neeskens deal - and yes - he IS named after Dutch legend". My London. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
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