Kenneth Zohore

Albin Kenneth Dahrup Zohore[1] (born 31 January 1994) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a striker for West Bromwich Albion. He began his career in his native Denmark, making his professional debut for Copenhagen at the age of 16, becoming the youngest player to play in the Danish Superliga. Regarded as a promising youngster, he joined Italian side Fiorentina in 2012 but struggled to break into the first-team and, following loan spells with Brøndby IF and IFK Göteborg, he returned to Denmark on a permanent basis by joining OB in 2015.

Kenneth Zohore

Zohore playing for Cardiff City in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Albin Kenneth Dahrup Zohore[1]
Date of birth	(1994-01-31) 31 January 1994
Place of birth	Copenhagen, Denmark
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Playing position(s)	Striker
Club information
Current team	West Bromwich Albion
Number	9
Youth career
2002–2006	BK Skjold
2006–2009	KB
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2012	Copenhagen	16	(1)
2012–2015	Fiorentina	0	(0)
2013–2014	→ Brøndby IF (loan)	25	(5)
2014	→ IFK Göteborg (loan)	5	(2)
2015–2016	OB	24	(9)
2016	K.V. Kortrijk	0	(0)
2016	→ Cardiff City (loan)	12	(2)
2016–2019	Cardiff City	84	(22)
2019–	West Bromwich Albion	15	(3)
National team^‡
2009–2011	Denmark U17	24	(13)
2012	Denmark U18	2	(0)
2010–2013	Denmark U19	16	(6)
2013–2017	Denmark U21	20	(8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02:15, 31 December 2019 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:38, 21 August 2017 (UTC)

Personal life

Zohore was born in Copenhagen to a Danish mother and an Ivorian father.[3][4] His father is the second cousin of former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.[5]

Career

Copenhagen

After spells with BK Skjold and KB, Zohore joined the youth system at Copenhagen, being promoted to the under-19 squad at the age of 15 in 2009. He joined the first-team's training camp in Marbella, Spain, on 2 February 2010 together with Thobias Skovgaard.[6] He made his professional debut for the club on 7 March 2010, at the age of 16 years and 35 days old,[7] becoming the youngest player to ever make his debut in the Danish Superliga after replacing César Santin in the 73rd minute during a 5–0 victory against AGF.[8][9] However, the match was his only appearance for the first-team during the 2009–10 season.[10]

On 20 October 2010, Zohore made his first UEFA Champions League appearance for Copenhagen, playing against FC Barcelona at Camp Nou. The 16-year-old striker replaced César Santin in the 74th minute of the game, becoming one of the youngest players ever to play in the Champion's League.[11] Ten days later, he scored his first senior goal for FC Copenhagen in the Danish Superliga against Lyngby Boldklub. He is the second youngest goalscorer ever in the Danish Superliga, after Mads Beierholm.[12]

Zohore attracted attention from numerous clubs around Europe, spending time on trial at Chelsea, also being approached by Chelsea player Didier Drogba after the two sides met in a Champions League fixture, and Inter Milan.[13] His performances saw him described as "one of the top striking prospects anywhere in the world".[14]

Fiorentina & loan spells

On 31 January 2012, FC Copenhagen announced that Zohore had signed for Italian side ACF Fiorentina on his 18th birthday for a fee in the region of £1 million.[8] He was given shirt no. 33.[15] However, Zohore did not feature for the first team, later stating that he was "too young" to cope with the strong competition for places.[16]

On 8 August 2013, Brøndby IF, managed by Zohore's former coach at Danish youth levels Thomas Frank, announced that they had agreed a deal with ACF Fiorentina to sign Zohore on a season-long loan with the option to buy at the end of the year for between €2.2 and €2.3 million.[17][18] Brøndby paid a loan fee of nearly €100,000 to secure the move, beating off competition from German side Hannover 96.[19] The transfer nearly collapsed as Brøndby were unaware of their need to pay Zohore's wages during the loan spell, but the loan was eventually completed.[17] Brøndby were hopeful of completing the transfer on a permanent basis but were unable to meet Fiorentina's valuation.[20]

On 11 August 2014 IFK Göteborg announced that Zohore had joined the club on a loan deal from Fiorentina.[21] He made his debut 13 August 2014 in an away game against Åtvidaberg BK coming on as a substitute. In his home game debut against Brommapojkarna on 17 August 2014, Zohore scored his first goal for IFK Göteborg three minutes after coming on as a substitute in the 83rd minute.

Odense Boldklub

On 3 February 2015, Zohore returned to the Danish Superliga with Odense Boldklub,[22] following the termination of his contract with Fiorentina.[23]

Cardiff City

2015–16

On the final day of the winter transfer window in January 2016, Zohore joined Championship side Cardiff City on loan from Belgian side K.V. Kortrijk, a club also owned by Cardiff chairman Vincent Tan, who signed him that same day from OB for a fee reported to be around £1 million.[24][25] At the time, Cardiff were under a transfer ban following a breach of financial fair play rules and were banned from signing players on permanent contracts,[24] although club sources stated that the deal was not made to circumvent the transfer ban and that he was moving to Cardiff to "boost his experience".[26] He made his debut on 6 February in a goalless draw against Milton Keynes Dons, coming on as a substitute in place of Sammy Ameobi.[27] He featured frequently in the final months of the 2015–16 season as a substitute, scoring his first goal for the club on 19 April 2016 during a 2–1 defeat against Brentford.[28] He was rewarded with his first start for the club in the following match, a 2–1 victory over Bolton Wanderers, during which he scored Cardiff's opening goal.[29] He finished his loan spell having made 12 appearances, scoring twice.[30]

2016–17

Zohore went on to sign a three-year deal in the Welsh capital in June 2016 for an undisclosed fee.[31] However, new manager Paul Trollope, who had replaced Russell Slade following the end of the previous season, favoured fellow new signings Frederic Gounongbe and Rickie Lambert following his appointment with Zohore making only one start in the opening four months of the season, during a 1–0 defeat to Bristol Rovers in the first round of the League Cup on 11 August 2016.[32] With the club struggling, Trollope was replaced by Neil Warnock and, in December 2016, Zohore impressed as a half time substitute during a 2–1 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.[33][34] Following the match, Warnock praised Zohore's performances in his first two appearances under him, commenting that Zohore had been "a little lazy" during his time at Cardiff and that a transfer away from the club had been considered,[35] but that his improvement meant that he could not "buy anybody better than him at the minute".[33] He went onto score his first goal on Boxing Day during a 2–2 draw with Brentford.[36][37] Zohore was nominated for Championship Player of the Month in February, following a goal against Leeds United and braces against Rotherham United and Fulham, but missed out to Leeds' Chris Wood.[38] His 12 goals for Cardiff saw him as the top goalscorer for the season, and he was awarded a contract keeping him at the club until 2020.[39] At the end of the season, he was awarded the club's Young Player of the Year award.[40]

2017–18

Zohore's form at the end of the previous season attracted interest from several clubs with Hull City, with an original bid of £6 million,[41] and Brighton & Hove Albion both having bids rejected by Cardiff.[42] Manager Neil Warnock later commented that Zohore was not for sale and would only leave the club if "I have a heart attack and another manager takes over."[43] Zohore scored his first goal of the season in the opening match, the only goal of the game in a 1–0 victory over Burton Albion on 5 August 2017.[42] Following a nine-game goal drought, Zohore scored a brace against Leeds United on 26 September, in a 3–1 win, before suffering an ankle injury which kept him out until the Christmas Period.[44][45] He returned to the side, replacing Omar Bogle in a 2–0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers on 23 December, before scoring his fourth of the season against Fulham on Boxing Day.[46][47] The new year saw Zohore score 5 goals, including winners against Bristol City and Ipswich Town.[48] Cardiff finished in 2nd place, gaining promotion to the Premier League.[49]

2018-19

Zohore started the 2018–19 season as Cardiff's lead striker against Bournemouth, however, a string of injuries and bad form saw Zohore in and out of the squad. He scored his first Premier League goal, in a 2–1 win at Southampton on 9 February.[50]

West Bromwich Albion

On 19 July 2019, Zohore signed for Championship side West Bromwich Albion in a deal worth up to £8m.[51] He scored his first goal for West Brom, a penalty, in a 1-1 draw with Reading on 21 August 2019.[52]

International career

In May 2018 he was named in Denmark’s preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[53] However, he did not make the final 23.[54]

Career statistics

As of 3rd February 2020

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Champions League		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
F.C. Copenhagen	2009–10	Superliga	1	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	1	0
	2010–11		15	1	1	0	-	-	5	0	21	1
	2011–12		0	0	1	0	0	0	-	-	1	0
	FC Copenhagen total		16	1	2	0	0	0	5	0	23	1
Fiorentina	2011–12	Serie A	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	0	0
	2012–13		0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	0	0
	Fiorentina total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Brøndby IF	2013–14	Superliga	25	5	1	0	-	-	-	-	26	5
IFK Göteborg	2014	Allsvenskan	5	2	0	0	-	-	-	-	5	2
Cardiff City (loan)	2015–16	Championship	12	2	0	0	0	0	-	-	12	2
Cardiff City	2016–17		29	12	0	0	1	0	-	-	30	12
	2017–18		36	9	3	0	0	0	-	-	39	9
	2018–19	Premier League	19	1	0	0	1	0	-	-	20	1
	Cardiff City total		96	24	3	0	2	0	0	0	101	24
West Bromwich Albion	2019–20	Championship	15	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	17	4
Career total			157	35	8	1	2	0	5	0	172	36

• (-) Not qualified

Honours

Copenhagen

• Danish Superliga: 2009–10, 2010–11

Cardiff City

• EFL Championship runner-up: 2017–18[55]

References

1. "FIFA U-17 World Cup Mexico 2011 List of Players" (PDF). fifa.com. FIFA. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
2. "Kenneth Zohore". Cardiff City F.C. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
3. "FCK's Zohore: Drogba er min mentor" (in Danish). bt.dk. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
4. Federico Generelli (24 June 2017). "L'ex viola Zohore regala la qualificazione all'Italia" (in Italian). Viola News. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
5. "FCK's Zohore: Drogba is my mentor". Sporten.dk. Sporten.dk. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
6. "Afrejse tirsdag" (in Danish). F.C. Copenhagen. 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
7. "Yngst/aeldst" (in Danish). superstats.dk. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
8. "Kenneth Zohore skifter til Fiorentina" (in Danish). fck.dk. 2012-01-31. Archived from the original on 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
9. Dominic Booth (20 February 2017). "The rise, fall and rise again of Kenneth Zohore: An insight into Cardiff City's prodigious talent who lost his way". WalesOnline. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
10. "K. Zohore". Soccerway. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
11. "The 10 youngest Champions League debutants including Juventus' Moise Kean – how did their careers pan out?". The Daily Telegraph. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
12. "Yngste Malscorere, All-Time" (in Danish). superstats.dk. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
13. "Den nye Bendtner (The new Bendtner)" (in Danish). Sporten.dk. 2010-02-05. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
14. Richard Torgerson (18 March 2011). "Zohore reveals Drogba 'chat'". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
15. "Comunicati Stampa N°123 (2011–12)" (in Italian). Lega Serie A. 12 May 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
16. "Da meteora viola a eroe, l'Italia ringrazia Zohore" (in Italian). Sky Sports. 25 June 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
17. "Sådan har Brøndby kokset i Zohore-handel" (in Danish). bt.dk. 28 July 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
18. "Kenneth Zohore to Brøndby IF" (in Danish). Brøndby IF. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
19. Søren Sorgenfri (26 July 2016). "Så meget skal Brøndby betale for Zohore" (in Danish). Jydske Vestkysten. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
20. Nanna Møller Karlsen (11 March 2015). "Zohore vil ikke juble, hvis han scorer mod Brøndby" (in Danish). 3point.dk. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
21. "Klart med Zohore" (in Swedish). IFK Göteborg. 11 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-09-15. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
22. "OB skriver kontrakt med Kenneth Zohore" (in Danish). Odense Boldklub. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
23. Wamsler, Morten (1 February 2016). "OB sælger Kenneth Zohore" (in Danish). Odense Boldklub. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
24. Chris Wathan (1 February 2016). "The details of Kenneth Zohore's Cardiff City loan as it emerges deal could contain clause to make move permanent". WalesOnline. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
25. "Kenneth Zohore joins Cardiff City from Vincent Tan's Kortrijk". BBC Sport. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
26. Chris Wathan (31 January 2016). "Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan set to buy Kenneth Zohore for Belgian club and loan striker to Bluebirds". WalesOnline. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
27. "Cardiff City 0–0 Milton Keynes Dons". BBC Sport. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
28. "Brentford 2–1 Cardiff City". BBC Sport. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
29. "Cardiff City 2–1 Bolton Wanderers". BBC Sport. 23 April 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
30. Anthony Woolford (6 July 2016). "Cardiff City sign Danish striker Kenneth Zohore while Idriss Saadi heads out on season-long loan deal". WalesOnline. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
31. Woolford, Anthony (6 July 2016). "Cardiff City sign Danish striker Kenneth Zohore while Idriss Saadi heads out on season-long loan deal". WalesOnline. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
32. "Bristol Rovers 1–0 Cardiff City (AET)". BBC Sport. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
33. Phil Smith (18 December 2016). "Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock could cancel January striker search if Kenneth Zohore continues surprise form". WalesOnline. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
34. "Cardiff City 2–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers". BBC Sport. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
35. Dominic Booth (27 February 2017). "The remarkable stats that show Kenneth Zohore is in better form than Ronaldo, Higuain, Diego Costa and many more huge stars". WalesOnline. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
36. "Brentford 2–2 Cardiff City". BBC Sport. 26 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
37. "Neil Warnock: Kenneth Zohore will save Cardiff money in transfer market". BBC Sport. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
38. "Zohore nominated for Player of the Month". Cardiff City F.C. Official Site. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
39. "Kenneth Zohore: Danish striker agrees new Cardiff City deal". BBC Sport. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
40. Booth, Dominic (30 April 2017). "Aron Gunnarsson is the big winner in Cardiff City's 2016/17 awards as Kenneth Zohore is also honoured". Wales Online. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
41. William Jackson (16 August 2017). "Hull City see £10m bid for Kenneth Zohore rejected by Cardiff City". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
42. Matthew Southcombe (19 August 2017). "No deal in place for Cardiff City's Kenneth Zohore to join Brighton as striker prepares for Wolves clash". WalesOnline. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
43. "Kenneth Zohore: Cardiff striker not for sale says manager Neil Warnock". BBC Sport. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
44. "Cardiff City 3–1 Leeds United". BBC Sport. 26 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
45. "Kenneth Zohore: Cardiff striker on the mend but not ready to play". BBC Sport. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
46. "Bolton Wanderers 2–0 Cardiff City". BBC Sport. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
47. "Cardiff City 2–4 Fulham". BBC Sport. 26 December 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
48. "Cardiff City 1–0 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
49. "Cardiff City 0–0 Reading". BBC Sport. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
50. "Southampton 1–2 Cardiff City". BBC Sport. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
51. Sands, Katie (19 July 2019). "Cardiff City striker Kenneth Zohore officially unveiled as new West Brom player after £8m deal struck". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
52. "West Brom 1-1 Reading". BBC. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
53. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - 23-man & preliminary lists & when will they be announced? - Goal.com".
54. "Confirmed: Denmark cut ex-Arsenal star from FIFA World Cup squad". Socceroos.
55. Anderson, John, ed. (2018). Football Yearbook 2018–2019. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 106–107. ISBN 978-1-4722-6106-9.

External links

• Kenneth Zohore DBU-statistics
• Kenneth Zohore at Soccerway
• Kenneth Zohore at OB