Tochi Chukwuani
Tochi Phil Chukwuani (born 24 March 2003) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Rangers.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tochi Phil Chukwuani | ||
| Date of birth | 24 March 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Herlev, Denmark[1] | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Rangers | ||
| Number | 42 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| B1973 Herlev | |||
| B.93 | |||
| Nordsjælland | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2022 | Nordsjælland | 33 | (3) |
| 2022–2024 | Lyngby | 54 | (5) |
| 2024–2026 | Sturm Graz | 43 | (4) |
| 2026– | Rangers | 10 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018–2019 | Denmark U16 | 6 | (2) |
| 2019–2020 | Denmark U17 | 15 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Denmark U19 | 7 | (3) |
| 2021 | Denmark U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2023– | Denmark U21 | 20 | (2) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12 April 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22 June 2025 | |||
Tochi Phil Chukwuani (born 24 March 2003) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Rangers.
Club career
[edit]Nordsjælland
[edit]Born in Herlev to Igbo Nigerian parents,[1] Chukwuani started playing football in the youth at B1973 Herlev and later B.93 before moving to the youth academy of Superliga club FC Nordsjælland. He practiced with the first team at age 14, and head coach Flemming Pedersen stated that he was "one of the top players of the future".[2] In July 2019, Chukwuani signed a three-year contract, keeping him in Nordsjælland until 2022.[3]
On 22 September 2019, Chukwuani made his professional debut in the Superliga in a 2–1 home win over AaB, thereby becoming the sixth youngest player to appear in a game in the league.[4] He came on as a substitute in the 82nd minute for Magnus Kofod Andersen.[5] On 17 July 2020, Chukwuani scored his first senior goal in a 6–3 away loss to eventual champions Midtjylland.[6] With the goal, he became the club's youngest scorer in league history, a record that was broken the following season by teammate Andreas Schjelderup at 16 years and 284 days.[7] He finished the season with 9 total appearances his which he scored one goal.[8]
On 5 April 2022, it was reported that Chukwuani had signed with Italian Serie A club Hellas Verona. Among others, the well-known transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano posted a picture of Chukwuani back in April, wearing a Verona jersey.[9] However, according to an Italian newspaper on 14 July 2022, Chukwuani failed the medical check in Verona because the medical staff had found a minor heart defect and as there were strict rules in Italy regarding heart problems, the transfer was no longer possible.[10]
Lyngby
[edit]After training with Lyngby Boldklub for several weeks, the club confirmed on 31 August 2022, that Chukwuani had signed a two-year deal with the newly promoted Danish Superliga team.[11] He made his debut for the club on 4 September, starting in a 2–0 home loss to Randers.[12] On 7 May 2023, he scored his first goal for De Kongeblå, opening the score in the second minute of a 2–1 league victory against Midtjylland.[13]
Sturm Graz
[edit]On 20 March 2024, it was announced that Chukwuani would be joining Austrian club Sturm Graz from the summer.[14]
Rangers
[edit]On 11 January 2026, Chukwuani was announced by Rangers on an initial three-and-a-half-year deal.[15]
International career
[edit]He is a youth international for Denmark.[16]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 14 December 2025[17]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nordsjælland | 2019–20 | Superliga | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | Superliga | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 2 | |||
| 2021–22 | Superliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 33 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 3 | ||||
| Lyngby | 2022–23 | Superliga | 23 | 1 | — | — | — | 23 | 1 | |||
| 2023–24 | Superliga | 31 | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 2 | |||
| Total | 54 | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 3 | ||||
| Sturm Graz | 2024–25 | Austrian Bundesliga | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7[b] | 0 | — | 36 | 3 | |
| 2025–26 | Austrian Bundesliga | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7[c] | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | ||
| Total | 43 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 0 | — | 62 | 4 | |||
| Career total | 115 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 139 | 10 | ||
- ^ Includes Danish Cup, Austrian Cup.
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours
[edit]Sturm Graz
References
[edit]- ^ a b Erboe Vestergaard, Andreas (27 November 2017). "I FC Nordsjælland coacher Superligaspillerne de unge: Inspirationen til den specielle ordning kommer blandt andet fra Paul Scholes". Euroman (in Danish). Retrieved 28 October 2020.
Tochi Chukwuani, [...] er født og opvokset i Herlev og går i 9. klasse.
- ^ Blond, Mikael (4 August 2018). "FCN-træner teaser: 16-årig stortalent er på vej". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ Schmidt, Martin (25 July 2019). "FC Nordsjælland forlænger med 16-årig midt". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ Schmidt, Martin (23 September 2019). "FCN-boss roser 16-årig: AGF slipper for ham". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ Hebo, Benjamin Alexander (22 September 2019). "Chanceorgie da FC Nordsjælland slog AaB". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ Frigaard, Anders (17 July 2020). "MINUT FOR MINUT Midtjylland tager sejren i målfest mod Nordsjælland". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 29 October 2020.
Stik mod spil og chancer lykkedes det den indskiftede Tochi Chukwuani at udligne med 20 minutter igen.
- ^ "ANDREAS SCHJELDERUP ER YNGSTE FCN-MÅLSCORER I SUPERLIGAEN NOGENSINDE". FCN (in Danish). 12 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "T. Chukwuani - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ Se billedet: Superliga-spiller rykker til Serie A, tipsbladet.dk, 5 April 2022
- ^ Medie: Tochi Chukwuani glipper Serie A-skifte grundet hjerteproblemer, bt.dk, 16 July 2022
- ^ "Talentfulde Tochi skifter til De Kongeblå" [Talented Tochi moves to the Royal Blues]. Lyngby Boldklub (in Danish). 31 August 2022. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Lyngby vs. Randers 0–2: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ Bitsch, Ole (7 May 2023). "FCM smeltede i forårssolen: Tabte til bundholdet". Herning Folkeblad (in Danish). Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Lyngby sælger Tochi til danskerklub" [Lyngby sells Tochi to "Danish club"]. bold.dk (in Danish). 20 March 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- ^ "Rangers Announce Signing of Tochi Chukwuani". Rangers.co.uk. 11 January 2026. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ "Official : Denmark U17 Star Of Nigerian Descent Chukwuani Signs New Deal With FC Nordsjaelland | All Nigeria Soccer". allnigeriasoccer.com. 25 July 2019. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ Tochi Chukwuani at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
External links
[edit]- Tochi Chukwuani at Soccerway
- Tochi Chukwuani national team profile at the Danish Football Association (in Danish)