Armstrong Oko-Flex
Armstrong Inya Echezolachuku Oko-Flex (born 2 March 2002) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club West Ham United.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Armstrong Inya Echezolachuku Oko-Flex[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 2 March 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | West Ham United | ||
| Number | 40 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| St Kevin's Boys | |||
| 2017–2018 | Arsenal | ||
| 2018–2021 | Celtic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021 | Celtic | 2 | (0) |
| 2021– | West Ham United | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2019– | Republic of Ireland U19 | 1 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:47, 18 January 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:25, 11 January 2021 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Oko-Flex was born in Dublin and started out playing with a local academy, St Kevin's Boys before being spotted by Arsenal scout Liam Brady, who had also come through the St Kevin's, with Oko-Flex then signing for the London club.[2] He joined Celtic on a three-year deal from Arsenal in September 2018.[3] He made his first team debut for the club as a substitute against Hibernian in January 2021.[4]
West Ham United
On 25 June 2021, Oko-Flex joined West Ham United on a two-year contract with an option for a third year.[5]
On 16 August 2021, Oko-Flex scored a hat-trick in his Premier League 2 debut against his boyhood club, Arsenal in a 6-1 home win.[6]
International career
Oko-Flex was called up to the Republic of Ireland U21 squad for the first time in November 2021, for their 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers against Italy & Sweden.[7][8]
Personal life
Oko-Flex is the son of the Nigerian-Irish community organiser Reginald Oko-Flex Inya.[9]
References
- "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- Brosnan, Maurice. "Irish Players In Middle Of International Tug Of War In Ever-Changing Landscape". Balls.ie.
- FC, Celtic. "Official Celtic Football Club Website | celticfc.com". Celtic FC.
- "Celtic 1-0 Hibernian - Turnbull crashes in stunning free-kick for late lead". January 11, 2021 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- "West Ham United sign promising forward Armstrong Oko-Flex | West Ham United". www.whufc.com.
- Flood, George (August 16, 2021). "New signing Oko-Flex nets treble as West Ham U23s thrash Arsenal 6-1". www.standard.co.uk.
- "U-21 call-up for West Ham's Armstrong Oko-Flex". November 3, 2021 – via www.rte.ie. Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - "Crawford names squad for Italy/Sweden qualifiers | Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie.
- Ifeanyi, Emmanuel. "Nigeria and England Battling Republic of Ireland For Arsenal Prodigy Okoflex". Retrieved 12 June 2018.