Li Ke (footballer)

Li Ke (Chinese: 李可; pinyin: Lǐ Kě) (born Nicholas Harry Yennaris; 24 May 1993) is an English-born Chinese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Beijing Guoan and the China national team. He began his career in the academy at Premier League club Arsenal and came to prominence in the Football League with Brentford.

Li Ke
李可
Ke playing for Arsenal in 2012.
Personal information
Birth name Nicholas Harry Yennaris[1]
Date of birth (1993-05-24) 24 May 1993
Place of birth Leytonstone, England
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder, full back
Club information
Current team
 Beijing Guoan
Number 23
Youth career
2001–2011 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Arsenal 1 (0)
2012 → Notts County (loan) 2 (0)
2013–2014 → Bournemouth (loan) 0 (0)
2014–2019 Brentford 144 (12)
2015 → Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 14 (1)
2019– Beijing Guoan 41 (2)
National team‡
2009 England U17 2 (0)
2010 England U18 1 (0)
2010–2012 England U19 7 (0)
2019– China 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:38, 5 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12:19, 5 December 2019 (UTC)

Ke has been described as a "rugged, all action defensive player, with a positive, winning mentality" and won 10 caps for England between U17 and U19 level.[3] He was born to a Chinese mother and a Greek father in England and was eligible to represent all three countries at international level. After joining Beijing Guoan in 2019, he was naturalised as a Chinese citizen and took the name Li Ke. He made his senior international debut for China in late 2019.

Club career

Early career

Yennaris joined the Arsenal Academy in May 2001 at age seven and progressed through the ranks.[4] He began his career as a forward and was moved back into a central midfield position,[5] before being moved to full back.[6] Injuries in 2008 halted his progress and the club were planning to release him just weeks before he signed two-year scholarship deal in 2009.[3] Yennaris won his first silverware with the club when he captained the U18 side to the 2009–10 Premier Academy League title.[7] Yennaris signed his first professional contract in July 2010,[8] but missed much of the 2010–11 season with a long-standing ankle problem.[3]

Professional debut (2011–2014)

Yennaris received his first call up to the senior squad for a League Cup third round tie versus Shrewsbury Town on 29 September 2011 and was an unused substitute during the 3–1 win.[9] His first team debut came on 25 October 2011 in the following round versus Bolton Wanderers, playing the full 90 minutes of the 2–1 win.[9] After signing a new contract,[10] Yennaris made his first FA Cup appearance on 9 January 2012, coming on as a 33rd-minute substitute for the injured Francis Coquelin at right back, as Arsenal beat Leeds United 1–0 in the third round.[11] He made his Premier League debut two weeks later, coming off the bench to replace Johan Djourou at half time of a 2–1 defeat to Manchester United.[11] Yennaris made three first team appearances during the 2011–12 season.[11]

After signing a contract extension during the 2012 off-season,[12] Yennaris made his only appearance of the 2012–13 season in a 6–1 League Cup third round win over Coventry City,[13] playing the full 90 minutes and assisting Theo Walcott for Arsenal's fourth goal.[14] He received his only call up to the first team of the 2013–14 season for a 2–0 League Cup fourth round defeat to Chelsea on 29 October 2013.[15] In the final year of his contract,[16] Yennaris departed Arsenal on 27 January 2014,[4] having made only four senior appearances for the club.[2]

Notts County (loan)

On 23 March 2012, Yennaris joined League One club Notts County on a youth loan for the remainder of the 2011–12 season.[17] He made his debut with a start in a 0–0 draw with Scunthorpe United the following day.[11] He made just one further appearance and returned to Arsenal early through injury.[2]

Bournemouth (loan)

Yennaris joined Championship club Bournemouth on 28 November 2013, on loan until 2 January 2014.[18] He was an unused substitute on three occasions and failed to make an appearance for the club.[15]

Injury struggles (2014–2015)

On 27 January 2014, Yennaris joined League One club Brentford for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half-year contract.[4] He made his debut in a 1–1 draw at Shrewsbury Town on 1 February,[19] but was replaced by Adam Forshaw after suffering a dead leg on 50 minutes.[20] After returning to fitness,[21] he made sporadic appearances through to the end of a successful season for the Bees,[19] securing automatic promotion to the Championship after a 1–0 victory over Preston North End on 18 April.[22] Though he made only eight appearances during the second half of the 2013–14 season,[19] Yennaris received a League One runners-up medal after the final game of the season against Stevenage.[23]

Yennaris made his first appearance of the 2014–15 season in a League Cup first round match versus Dagenham & Redbridge on 12 August 2014, but lasted just 20 minutes before suffering a back injury.[24] After recovering and then suffering a thigh injury in September,[25][26] Yennaris had to wait until 3 January 2015 to make his second appearance of the season, which came in a 2–0 FA Cup third round defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, when he replaced Alan Judge after 88 minutes.[27] A suspension incurred by Jake Bidwell in mid-February looked to have secured an opening for Yennaris at left back, but he managed just one appearance in a 3–0 defeat to Charlton Athletic, before being dropped in favour of left midfielder Stuart Dallas.[28] He spent the remainder of the season away on loan and finished 2014–15 with just three appearances.[27]

Wycombe Wanderers (loan)

On 27 February 2015, Yennaris joined League Two club Wycombe Wanderers on a one-month loan,[29] which was later extended until the end of the 2014–15 season.[30][31] He showed his versatility, playing in central midfield,[32] right back and centre back for the team.[33][34] He scored the first senior goal of his career in Wycombe's 3–2 final-day win over Northampton Town,[27] which confirmed a fourth-place finish and qualification for the end-of-season playoffs.[35] Yennaris' season ended in heartbreak after a shootout defeat to Southend United in the playoff final.[36] He returned to Brentford after the match, having made 17 appearances and scored one goal for the Chairboys.[2]

Breakthrough (2015–2017)
Yennaris playing for Brentford in January 2017.

Yennaris made his first appearance of the 2015–16 season in the League Cup first round versus Oxford United on 11 August 2015,[37] starting in central midfield, but he was forced off with a dead leg after 53 minutes of the 4–0 defeat.[38] After returning to fitness, injury to regular right back Maxime Colin saw interim manager Lee Carsley bring Yennaris back to the team in early October and he held onto his place through to late-December, when Colin returned from injury.[39][40] A shortage of midfielders and injury to Maxime Colin saw Yennaris regain his place in the team in mid-February 2016,[40] with new head coach Dean Smith utilising him as a defensive midfielder and describing Yennaris as "a revelation" in the position.[41] He signed a new three-year contract on 16 February and after over two years at the club without scoring a goal,[42] Yennaris scored in wins over Nottingham Forest and Bolton Wanderers in early April and finished the season with 33 appearances.[40]

Despite some injury troubles during 2016–17 pre-season and a long-standing calf problem,[43][44] Yennaris was fit enough for a place on the bench versus Huddersfield Town on the opening day and after coming on for Josh McEachran in the second half, he scored his third Brentford goal on 77 minutes, which proved to be a consolation in a 2–1 defeat.[45] He quickly re-established himself as a starter in defensive midfield and played through the pain of his niggling calf injury.[46] Yennaris scored his second goal of the season on 2 January 2017,[47] sealing a 3–1 victory over Birmingham City with a 25-yard strike.[48] He was the club's only ever-present player during the 2016–17 season (with 49 appearances) and scored six goals.[47][49] On 9 June 2017,[50] Yennaris signed a new four-year contract.[51]

Latter years (2017–2019)

Yennaris lost his starting central midfield place to new signing Kamohelo Mokotjo early in the 2017–18 season,[52] but regained it in mid-August 2017 after an injury to Josh McEachran and a personal issue suffered by Ryan Woods.[53][54] After injuries to Henrik Dalsgaard and Josh Clarke,[55][56] Yennaris returned to the right back position in December 2017.[57] With captain John Egan out of favour, Yennaris also assumed the temporary captaincy of the team.[57] He finished the season with 44 appearances and four goals.[58]

Yennaris began the 2018–19 season alternating between a starting and a substitute role, before breaking into the starting lineup in October 2018.[59] He made 20 appearances before transferring away from the club in January 2019.[60][61] In five years at Griffin Park, Yennaris made 157 appearances and scored 12 goals.[2]

Beijing Guoan

On 31 January 2019, Yennaris transferred to Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan for an undisclosed fee.[61][62][63] He made 25 appearances and scored two goals during the 2019 season.[64] Yennaris made 22 appearances without scoring during the COVID-19-affected 2020 season, which ended with a third-place play-off finish.[65]

International career

Yennaris represented England at U17, U18 and U19 level.[66] He made two appearances in the U17s' successful 2009 Nordic Tournament campaign.[66] His solitary U18 cap came with a starting appearance in a 3–0 friendly win over Poland on 16 November 2010.[66] Yennaris played in six friendlies for the U19s in late 2011 and early 2012, which were scheduled after the team received a bye to the elite round of the 2012 European U19 Championship qualifying.[67] The friendly matches included three appearances at the 2011 Limoges Tournament,[67] which England won.[68] He was also eligible to represent China, Greece and Cyprus at international level.[69]

On 30 May 2019, Yennaris made history by becoming the first ever naturalised player to be called up by China and he made his debut with a start in a 2–0 friendly victory over the Philippines on 7 June 2019.[70][71]

Personal life

Yennaris was born in Leytonstone, London to a father of Greek Cypriot origin and a mother of Chinese origin.[69] His Chinese name is Li Ke (Chinese: 李可; pinyin: Lǐ Kě).[72] He is an Arsenal supporter and was a mascot for a match at Highbury against Coventry City on 16 September 2000.[73]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 10 December 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals Apps GoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2011–12[11] Premier League 101010 0 0—30
2012–13[13] 000010 0 0—10
2013–14[19] 000000 0 0—00
Total 101020 0 0—40
Notts County (loan) 2011–12[11] League One 20—— ——20
Bournemouth (loan) 2012–13[13] Championship 0000— ——00
Brentford 2013–14[19] League One 80—— ——80
2014–15[27] Championship 101010 —0 030
2015–16[40] 31 2 1 0 1 0 — — 33 2
2016–17[47] 46 6 2 0 1 0 — — 49 6
2017–18[58] 41 4 0 0 3 0 — — 44 4
2018–19[60] 17 0 0 0 3 0 — — 20 0
Total 144124090 —— 15712
Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 2014–15[27] League Two 141—— —3[lower-alpha 1]0171
Beijing Guoan 2019[64] Chinese Super League 25 2 2 0 — — 0 0 27 2
2020[64] 16 0 1 0 — 5[lower-alpha 2] 0 — 22 0
Total 41 2 3 0 — 5 0 — 49 2
Career total 2001580110 5 03022715
  1. Appearances in League Two play-offs
  2. Appearance in AFC Champions League

International
As of match played 14 November 2019[71]
China national team
YearAppsGoals
201950
Total50

Honours

Arsenal

Brentford

England U19

England U17

  • Nordic Tournament: 2009[66]

See also

References
  1. "Li Ke". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  2. Li Ke at Soccerbase
  3. Sanderson, Jamie. "Nico Yennaris battles back from the brink to be the next off the Arsenal production line". Independent Editor's choice Blogs. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  4. Wickham, Chris (27 January 2014). "Brentford Sign Arsenal's Nico Yennaris". Brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  5. "Yennaris – Right-back role suits me well". Cyprusfooty.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  6. "Arsenal's Nico Yennaris moves to Brentford". The Football League. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  7. "Arsenal Youth 5 : Nottingham Forest Youth 3". Arsenal.com. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  8. "Yennaris signs contract extension with Club". Arsenal.com. 22 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  9. "Nicholas Yennaris Player Profile". ESPN FC. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  10. "Nico Yennaris pens Arsenal contract extension". Espn Fc. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  11. "Games played by Li Ke in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  12. "Yennaris signs new contract extension". Arsenal.com. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  13. "Games played by Li Ke in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  14. "Arsenal 6–1 Coventry". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  15. "Nicholas Yennaris Player Profile". ESPN FC. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  16. "Why Nico Yennaris should be the long term replacement of Bacary Sagna". Sportskeeda. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  17. "Magpies swoop for Gunners teen". Sky Sports. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  18. "Nico Yennaris: AFC Bournemouth sign Arsenal defender". BBC Sport. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  19. "Games played by Li Ke in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  20. "Bees to assess Yennaris". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  21. Lewis, Matt. "Brentford boss explains defensive changes". getwestlondon. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  22. "Brentford 1–0 Preston North End". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  23. "Brentford FC – 03 May 2014 – Stevenage – Home". Official Brentford Pictures. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  24. Wickham, Chris. "Brentford Manager Mark Warburton reacts to 6–6 draw with Dagenham and Redbridge in Capital One Cup". Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  25. Murtagh, Jacob. "Brentford defender struggling for Middlesbrough trip". getwestlondon. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  26. @BrentfordFC (14 October 2014). "Welcome back to training @Nico_Yennaris and @samsaunders7" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. "Games played by Li Ke in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  28. "Nicholas Yennaris". ESPN FC. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  29. Lewis, Matt (27 February 2015). "Wycombe Wanderers tie up loan deals for Brentford pair". getwestlondon. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  30. Wickham, Chris. "Brentford pair Sam Saunders and Nico Yennaris extend Wycombe Wanderers loan until the end of the season". brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  31. Wickham, Chris. "Brentford pair Sam Saunders and Nico Yennaris extend Wycombe Wanderers loan". brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  32. "Wycombe Wanderers 2–2 Stevenage". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  33. Wickham, Chris. "Brentford defender Nico Yennaris named in Football League Team of the Week appearing on loan for Wycombe Wanderers". brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  34. Styles, Greg. "Late winner dents Blues' promotion hopes". Bucks Free Press. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  35. "Wycombe Wanderers Table on Saturday 2nd May 2015". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  36. "Southend United 1–1 Wycombe Wanderers (7–6 pens)". BBC. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  37. "Matchday Centre: Oxford United". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  38. Moore, Tom. "Brentford to find out extent of Andreas Bjelland's injury". Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  39. "Maxime Colin speaks after returning from injury lay-off". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  40. "Games played by Li Ke in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  41. Moore, Tom (6 May 2016). "Dean Smith offers outline of Brentford's summer transfer plans". getwestlondon. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  42. Wickham, Chris. "Former Arsenal youngster Yennaris signs contract extension at Griffin Park until summer 2019". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  43. Moore, Tom (26 July 2016). "Brentford boss Dean Smith gives injury update after Peterborough friendly". Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  44. Street, Tim (30 December 2016). "Brentford midfielder opens up on his mystery injury problems". getwestlondon. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  45. "Nicholas Yennaris Player Profile". ESPN FC. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  46. Moore, Tom (17 March 2017). "Brentford midfielder suffers injury setback". getwestlondon. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  47. "Games played by Li Ke in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  48. "Birmingham City vs Brentford team line-ups and match report". Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  49. ""The only way that this club is going is forward"". Brentford FC. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  50. "Monthly Bulletins – Players under Written Contract – June 2017". The FA. p. 11. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  51. "Yennaris signs new contract". Brentford FC. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  52. "Nico Yennaris Player Profile". ESPN FC. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  53. Moore, Tom (17 August 2017). "Brentford availability update for trip to Ipswich". getwestlondon. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  54. "Brentford midfielder Ryan Woods announces tragic loss of baby". Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  55. "Maxime Colin joins Birmingham City". Brentford FC. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  56. "Dean looking ahead to 'mouth-watering fixtures' over Christmas". Brentford FC. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  57. "Nico: "We managed the game very well"". Brentford FC. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  58. "Games played by Li Ke in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  59. "Nico Yennaris Player Profile". ESPN FC. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  60. "Games played by Li Ke in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  61. "Yennaris departure confirmed". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  62. "中赫国安官宣三人加盟 侯永永邹德海李可来投" (in Chinese). 31 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  63. "Li Ke: I aim to do even better with China PR, Beijing FC". The-AFC. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  64. Li Ke at Soccerway. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  65. "Summary – CSL – China PR – Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  66. "Nicholas Yennaris profile". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  67. "England Matches – Under-19's 2010–20". englandfootballonline.com. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  68. Jones, Neil (12 October 2011). "Liverpool FC trio enjoy England U19s Limoges tournament success". liverpoolecho.co.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  69. "Young Guns: Nico Yennaris". London: Arsenal F.C. 29 August 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  70. "Nico Yennaris: Former Arsenal and Brentford midfielder called up by China". BBC Sport. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  71. "Li Ke". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  72. "李可或在春节期间随母返回广东 进行认祖归宗仪式" (in Chinese). 1 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  73. "Nico Yennaris... from mascot to player | Latest News | Junior Gunners". Arsenal.com. 25 September 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  74. Brentford F.C. at the Football Club History Database
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.