Kelvin Kwarteng Yeboah (born 6 May 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Major League Soccer club Minnesota United. Born in Ghana, Yeboah was a youth international for Italy.

Kelvin Yeboah
Yeboah in 2021
Personal information
Full name Kelvin Kwarteng Yeboah
Date of birth (2000-05-06) 6 May 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
Minnesota United
Number 9
Youth career
West Ham United
Gozzano
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 AC London 19 (6)
2018–2021 WSG Tirol 56 (10)
2021–2022 Sturm Graz 34 (17)
2022–2024 Genoa 28 (1)
2023FC Augsburg (loan) 13 (1)
2023–2024Montpellier (loan) 11 (0)
2024Standard Liège (loan) 14 (6)
2024– Minnesota United 9 (7)
International career
2021–2022 Italy U21 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 October 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 March 2022

He is the nephew of former Ghanaian international footballer Tony Yeboah.[2]

Club career

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Yeboah joined the academy of Premier League side West Ham United before joining Italian Serie C side Gozzano academy.[3] In November 2017, Yeboah held a trial with Danish Superliga side Aalborg BK training with their first team.[4] Yeboah saw the rest of the 2017–18 season out with Combined Counties League Division One club AC London, scoring six league goals in 19 appearances.[5]

On 19 June 2018, Yeboah signed for Austrian Bundesliga side WSG Tirol. He made his debut for the club in August 2019 against Austria Klagenfurt. He helped his club earn promotion to the Austrian Football Bundesliga after winning the Austrian Second Division for the 2018–19 season. After earning promotion, on 4 July 2019 Yeboah signed a new longer-term contract at WSG.[6]

He made his first appearance in Bundesliga on 31 August 2019, playing in a 1–5 defeat against FC Salzburg, which included a goal from FC Salzburg striker Erling Haaland, whose father Alfie Haaland had briefly been a teammate of Kelvin's uncle Tony at Leeds United in 1997.[7]

On 25 September 2019, Yeboah came to prominence on a big stage, by scoring four goals in a single match for WSG Tirol in the 5–2 Austrian Cup victory against Austria Wien.[8]

On 6 February 2021, Yeboah transferred to fellow Austrian Bundesliga side Sturm Graz, signing a contract until the summer of 2024.[9]

On 8 January 2022, Yeboah joined Serie A club Genoa for an undisclosed fee.[10] After suffering relegation with the Grifone and playing the first half of the season in Serie B, on 18 January 2023 Yeboah was loaned out to Bundesliga side FC Augsburg until the end of the season, with an option to buy.[11]

On 1 September 2023, Yeboah joined Ligue 1 side Montpellier on loan for the remainder of the season, with an option to buy.[12] On 1 February 2024, Yeboah moved on a new loan to Standard Liège in Belgium, with an option to buy.[13]

On 27 July 2024, Yeboah joined Major League Soccer club Minnesota United on a three-and-a-half-year contract as a Designated Player with a club-side option of a further year.[14][15]

International career

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Born in Accra, Yeboah grew up in Italy and is eligible to represent both countries at the international level though he is yet to be capped.[16]

On 20 January 2019, Yeboah was called up to the Ghana's under-20s.[17] On 13 August 2021, he was called up to the Ghana senior team ahead of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia and South Africa.[18] On 27 August, he was called up by Italy's under-21 side.[19] However he rejected the Ghanaian call-up and honoured the Italian under-21 call-up.[20] On 3 September 2021, he made his debut with the Italy U21 squad, playing as a substitute in the qualifying match won 3–0 against Luxembourg.[21]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 8 April 2023[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
WSG Tirol 2018–19 2. Liga 16 2 1 0 17 2
2019–20 Austrian Bundesliga 25 4 4 4 29 8
2020–21 Austrian Bundesliga 15 4 2 0 17 4
Total 56 10 7 4 63 14
Sturm Graz 2020–21 Austrian Bundesliga 16 6 1 0 17 6
2021–22 Austrian Bundesliga 18 11 3 2 7 1 28 14
Total 34 17 4 2 7 1 45 20
Genoa 2021–22 Serie A 17 0 1 0 18 0
FC Augsburg (loan) 2022–23 Bundesliga 8 0 8 0
Career total 115 27 12 6 7 1 0 0 134 34
Notes

Honours

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WSG Swarovski Tirol

References

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  1. ^ a b Kelvin Yeboah at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  2. ^ Geiler, Christoph (15 October 2019). "Geständnis: Kelvin Yeboah ist gar nicht der Sohn von Anthony Yeboah" [Confession: Kelvin Yeboah is not the son of Anthony Yeboah at all]. kurier.at (in German).
  3. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Tony Yeboah's son Kelvin signs one-year deal with German side WSG Wattens". Ghana Soccernet. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  4. ^ "AaB tests Leeds legend's son". Nordjyske. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Kelvin Yeboah Player Stats". Full-Time FA. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  6. ^ "WSG Tirol extends with Kelvin Yeboah". Sky Sports Austria. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  7. ^ "WSG Tirol 1 FC Salzburg 5". ESPN. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Cup shame: WSG Tirol humiliates Wiener Austria". Sky Sports Austria. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Kelvin Yeboah wechselt nach Graz" [Kelvin Yeboah is moving to Graz] (in German). SK Sturm Graz. 6 February 2021. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  10. ^ "IL GENOA SPRINTA CON KELVIN YEBOAH" (in Italian). Genoa. 8 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Kelvin Yeboah joins on loan from Genoa". FC Augsburg. 18 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Kelvin Yeboah rejoint le MHSC" [Kelvin Yeboah joins MHSC] (in French). Montpellier. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  13. ^ "KELVIN YEBOAH EST ROUCHE" [KELVIN YEBOAH IS ROUCHE] (in French). Standard Liège. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Official: Loons Sign Kelvin Yeboah". www.mnufc.com. 27 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  15. ^ Marthaler, Jon (27 July 2024). "Loïc Mesanvi, Kelvin Yeboah give Minnesota United new hope". Star Tribune. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Exclusive: Talented youngster Kelvin Yeboah joins Sturm Graz". sportsworldghana.com. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Cup shame: WSG Tirol humiliates Wiener Austria". Kick Gh. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  18. ^ "CK Akonnor names 30-man squad for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers - MyJoyOnline.com". myjoyonline.com. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Parte il nuovo biennio: Ventisei convocati, nel gruppo dieci volti nuovi per Nicolato". 27 August 2021.
  20. ^ "World Cup qualifiers: Ghana FA confirm Kelvin Yeboah snub". GhanaSoccernet. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  21. ^ "Esordio con vittoria per la nuova Italia. Nicolato: "Ho visto un grande impegno, ma dobbiamo lavorare"" [Debut with victory for the new Italy. Nicolato: "I saw a great commitment, but we have to work"]. figc.it (in Italian). 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
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