Simeon Akinola

Simeon Akinola Olaonirekun (born 9 August 1992) is a Nigerian footballer who plays for Southend United.

Simeon Akinola

Personal information
Full name	Simeon Akinola Olaonirekun[1]
Date of birth	6 August 1992[2]
Place of birth	Lagos, Nigeria
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[3]
Position(s)	Winger / Forward
Club information
Current team	Southend United
Number	9
Youth career
	Alcorcón
2009–2010	Boreham Wood
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2012	Boreham Wood	21	(2)
2011	→ Billericay Town (loan)	1	(0)
2012	→ Harrow Borough (loan)	5	(4)
2012–2014	Harrow Borough	75	(22)
2014–2016	Braintree Town	104	(19)
2017–2020	Barnet	93	(21)
2020–	Southend United	8	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 03:51, 20 January 2020 (UTC)

Career

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Akinola moved to Madrid aged three. He started playing futsal aged nine before joining Alcorcón after a successful trial,[4][5] later moving to London.[6]

He joined the academy at Boreham Wood, and made his senior debut in January 2011, a season in which he scored 53 goals for the reserve team.[4][7] He was loaned out to Billericay Town in November 2011,[8] and then Harrow Borough in February 2012,[9] before signing for Borough permanently for a fee of £2,400, set by tribunal after Boreham Wood rejected an initial offer of £750.[10]

In August 2014, Akinola joined Braintree Town for an undisclosed fee.[5]

He joined Barnet on 1 January 2017 for a fee of £40,000.[11] He made his debut the following day against Plymouth Argyle[12]

On 31 August 2017 - transfer deadline day - Barnet agreed terms with Lincoln City for the transfer of Akinola, pending verification from the EFL.[13][14] On 5 September it was confirmed that the EFL had refused to ratify the transfer and that Akinola would remain at Barnet.[15] He left the club at the end of the 2019-20 season, having scored 24 goals in 106 games.[16]

On 17 September 2020, Akinola signed for Southend United on a two-year deal with an option for a third.[17] In November 2020 it was reported that Akinola's debut for the Shrimpers was being held up by an embargo on player registrations against the club.[18]

Akinola made his Southend United debut on 12 December 2020, starting in a 1-0 win at Roots Hall over Scunthorpe United.[19]

International career

Akinola is eligible to play for Nigeria and Spain at international level. He was called up by England C in May 2015, but was forced to withdraw.[20]

Personal life

Akinola has a degree in systems engineering.[21]

Career statistics

As of 26 December 2020

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Boreham Wood	2010-11	Conference South	4	0	0	0	---		0	0	4	0
	2011-12		17	2	0	0	---		0	0	17	2
	Boreham Wood total		21	2	0	0	---		0	0	21	2
Billericay Town (loan)	2011-12	Isthmian League Premier Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Harrow Borough (loan)	2011-12	Isthmian League Premier Division	5	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	4
Harrow Borough	2012-13	Isthmian League Premier Division	37	11	1	0	---		0	0	38	11
	2013-14		32	9	2	1	---		0	0	34	10
	2014-15		6	2	0	0	---		0	0	6	2
	Harrow total		75	22	3	1	---		0	0	78	23
Braintree Town	2014-15[22]	Conference National	38	4	3	2	---		4[lower-alpha 1]	1	45	7
	2015-16[23]	National League	41	10	0	0	---		4[lower-alpha 2]	0	45	10
	2016-17[24]		25	5	3	1	---		1[lower-alpha 1]	0	29	6
	Braintree total		104	19	6	3	---		9	1	119	23
Barnet	2016-17[24]	League Two	19	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	2
	2017-18		29	4	1	1	1	0	1[lower-alpha 3]	0	32	5
	2018-19	National League	14	0	1	0	---		2[lower-alpha 1]	0	17	0
	2019-20		31	15	2	0	---		5[lower-alpha 4]	2	38	17
	Barnet total		93	21	4	1	1	0	8	2	106	24
Southend United	2020-21	League Two	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
Career total			303	69	13	5	1	0	17	3	334	77

1. Appearances in the FA Trophy
2. Two appearances in FA Trophy, two appearances in National League play-offs
3. Appearances in the EFL Trophy
4. Four appearances and two goals in the FA Trophy, one appearance in National League playoffs

References

1. "EFL Released and Retained List 2016-17" (PDF). English Football League. p. 70. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
2. "Simeon Akinola". BarnetFC.com. Barnet FC. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
3. "Simeon Akinola". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
5. "Devonshire strengthens forward options with signing of Akinola". Gazette.
6. "The Braintree Town FC website". www.braintreetownfc.org.uk.
7. Simeon Akinola - Aylesbury United
8. Association, The Football. "The website for the English football association, the Emirates FA Cup and the England football team". www.thefa.com.
9. "Simeon Akinola - Harrow Borough Football Club First Team". www.pitchero.com.
10. "Wood's Development Programme Recognised".
11. "Barnet bolster attacking options with Akinola". www.barnetfc.com.
12. "Barnet 1-0 Plymouth Argyle" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
13. "Statement | Simeon Akinola". www.barnetfc.com.
14. "Akinola Deal Pending". www.redimps.co.uk.
15. "Akinola Deal Off". www.redimps.co.uk.
16. "Club update". www.barnetfc.com.
17. "AKINOLA SIGNS!". www.southendunited.co.uk.
18. "New proposed EFL guidelines could see Southend United and many others clear embargoes". Echo.
19. "Southend United 1-0 Scunthorpe United" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
20. "Braintree Town Winger Simeon Akinola To WAIT For England Debut:: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com.
21. "Elephant Sport » Q&A – Barnet striker Simeon Akinola".
22. "Games played by Simeon Akinola in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
23. "Games played by Simeon Akinola in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
24. "Games played by Simeon Akinola in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2017.

External links

• Simeon Akinola at Soccerway