Misplaced Pages

Nico Yennaris
Li Ke (李可)

Yennaris playing for Arsenal in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Li Ke
Birth name	Nicholas Harry Yennaris
Date of birth	(1993-05-24) 24 May 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Leytonstone, England
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder, full back
Team information
Current team	Beijing Guoan
Number	23
Youth career
0000–2001	Ridgeway Rovers
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	86	(3)
International career
2009	England U17	2	(0)
2010	England U18	1	(0)
2010–2012	England U19	7	(0)
2019–	China	13	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:14, 10 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:51, 21 July 2024 (UTC)

Li Ke (Chinese: 李可; pinyin: Lǐ Kě; born Nicholas Harry Yennaris (Greek: Νικόλας Χάρι Γεννάρης); 24 May 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Beijing Guoan. Born in England, he plays for the China national team.

Yennaris began his career in the academy at Premier League club Arsenal and came to prominence in the Football League with Brentford. Born in England to a Chinese mother and a Greek-Cypriot father, he was eligible to represent all four nations at international level and won 10 youth caps for England. After joining Beijing Guoan in 2019, Yennaris was naturalised as a Chinese citizen and took the name Li Ke. He made his senior international debut for China in late 2019. He has been described as a "rugged, all action defensive player, with a positive, winning mentality".

Club career

Arsenal

Early career

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

Professional debut (2011–2014)

Yennaris received his maiden call into the first team squad for a League Cup third round tie versus Shrewsbury Town on 29 September 2011 and he remained an unused substitute during the 3–1 win. His first team debut came in the following round versus Bolton Wanderers, in which he played the full 90 minutes of a 2–1 win. After signing a new contract, Yennaris made two further substitute appearances before joining League One club Notts County on a youth loan in March 2012. Signing until the end of the 2011–12 season, he made two appearances before returning to Arsenal early through injury. Yennaris signed a contract extension with Arsenal during the 2012 off-season.

Yennaris was named in just two first team matchday squads during the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons, making one appearance. On 28 November 2013, Yennaris joined Championship club Bournemouth on loan until 2 January 2014. He was an unused substitute on three occasions and failed to make an appearance for the club. Entering the final six months of his contract, Yennaris departed Arsenal on 27 January 2014, after making only four senior appearances for the club.

Brentford

Injury struggles (2014–2015)

On 27 January 2014, Yennaris transferred to League One club Brentford and signed a 2+1⁄2 year contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut in a 1–1 draw at Shrewsbury Town on 1 February, but was replaced by Adam Forshaw after suffering a dead leg on 50 minutes. After returning to fitness, he made sporadic appearances through to the end of a successful season for the Bees, in which the club secured automatic promotion to the Championship after a 1–0 victory over Preston North End on 18 April. Though he made only eight appearances during the second half of the 2013–14 season, Yennaris received a League One runners-up medal after the final match of the season against Stevenage.

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. After recovering and then suffering a thigh injury in September, 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. 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.

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

Breakthrough (2015–2017)

Yennaris made his first appearance of the 2015–16 season in the League Cup first round versus Oxford United on 11 August 2015. Starting in central midfield, he was forced off with a dead leg after 53 minutes of the 4–0 defeat. 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. A shortage of midfielders and injury to Maxime Colin saw Yennaris regain his place in the team in mid-February 2016, with new head coach Dean Smith utilising him as a defensive midfielder and describing Yennaris as "a revelation" in the position. He signed a new three-year contract on 16 February and after over two years at the club without scoring a goal, Yennaris scored in wins over Nottingham Forest and Bolton Wanderers in early April and finished the season with 33 appearances.

Despite some injury troubles during 2016–17 pre-season and a long-standing calf problem, 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, though the match was eventually lost 2–1. He quickly re-established himself as a starter in defensive midfield and played through the pain of his niggling calf injury. Yennaris scored his second goal of the season on 2 January 2017, sealing a 3–1 victory over Birmingham City with a 25-yard strike. He was the club's only ever-present player during the 2016–17 season (with 49 appearances) and scored six goals. On 9 June 2017, Yennaris signed a new four-year contract.

Latter years (2017–2019)

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

Yennaris began the 2018–19 season alternating between a starting and a substitute role, before breaking into the starting lineup in October 2018. He made 20 appearances before transferring out of the club in January 2019. During five years at Griffin Park, Yennaris made 157 appearances and scored 12 goals.

Beijing Guoan

On 31 January 2019, Yennaris transferred to Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan for an undisclosed fee. He made 25 appearances and scored two goals during the 2019 season. Yennaris made 22 appearances without scoring during the COVID-19-affected 2020 season, which ended with a third-place play-off finish. Yennaris made just three appearances during the 2021 season (again affected by COVID-19) and in November 2021 he was forced to undergo two surgeries in London on an "uncommon" ankle injury. He missed the entire 2022 season and underwent a third surgery in London in July 2022. By December 2022, Yennaris was undertaking outdoor training at the Arsenal Training Centre and by March 2023, he had returned to fitness and signed a contract extension.

Two weeks shy of two years since his previous appearance for the club, Yennaris made his first appearance of the 2023 season as a substitute for Zhang Xizhe after 76 minutes of a 3–1 defeat to Qingdao Hainiu on 25 April 2023. He finished the season with 22 appearances in all competitions. Ahead of the 2024 season, Yennaris signed a contract extension. He made 24 appearances and scored one goal during the 2024 season, in which the club narrowly missed out on AFC Champions League Two qualification.

International career

Yennaris represented England at U17, U18 and U19 level. He made two appearances during the U17s' successful 2009 Nordic Tournament campaign. His solitary U18 cap came with a starting appearance in a 3–0 friendly win over Poland on 16 November 2010. 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. The friendly matches included three appearances at the 2011 Limoges Tournament, which England won. He was also eligible to represent China, Greece and Cyprus at international level.

On 30 May 2019, Yennaris made history by becoming the first ever naturalised player to be called up by China and he made his senior international debut with a start in a 2–0 friendly victory over the Philippines on 7 June 2019. He won five further caps during the remainder of the year. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and long-term injuries, Yennaris was only capped once more between November 2019 and September 2023. He won a recall to the international team and won six caps in a mixture of friendlies and 2026 World Cup qualifiers between September and November 2023. Yennaris was named in China's 2023 AFC Asian Cup squad, but family reasons led to his withdrawal.

Personal life

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

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 November 2024

1. Includes FA Cup, Chinese FA Cup
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. Appearances in League Two play-offs
4. Appearance in AFC Champions League

International

As of match played 1 January 2024

Honours

Arsenal Youth

• Premier Academy League: 2009–10

England U17

• Nordic Tournament: 2009

England U19

• Limoges Tournament: 2011

See also

• List of Chinese naturalized footballers

References

1. "Nico Yennaris". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
2. ^ Nico Yennaris 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. "'Very proud': Arsenal youngster who played with Harry Kane makes history". OneFootball. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
5. ^ Wickham, Chris (27 January 2014). "Brentford Sign Arsenal's Nico Yennaris". Brentford FC. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
6. "Yennaris – Right-back role suits me well". Cyprusfooty.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
7. "Arsenal's Nico Yennaris moves to Brentford". The Football League. 27 January 2014. 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. ^ "Nico Yennaris pens Arsenal contract extension". ESPN FC. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
10. ^ Nico Yennaris at Soccerway. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
11. ^ "Games played by Nico Yennaris in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
12. ^ "Magpies swoop for Gunners teen". Sky Sports. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
13. "Yennaris signs new contract extension". Arsenal.com. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
14. "Nico Yennaris: AFC Bournemouth sign Arsenal defender". BBC Sport. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
15. "Why Nico Yennaris should be the long term replacement of Bacary Sagna". Sportskeeda. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
16. ^ "Games played by Nico Yennaris in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
17. "Bees to assess Yennaris". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
18. Lewis, Matt (March 2014). "Brentford boss explains defensive changes". getwestlondon. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
19. "Brentford 1–0 Preston North End". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
20. "Brentford FC – 03 May 2014 – Stevenage – Home". Official Brentford Pictures. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
21. Wickham, Chris. "Brentford Manager Mark Warburton reacts to 6–6 draw with Dagenham and Redbridge in Capital One Cup". Retrieved 26 December 2018.
22. Murtagh, Jacob (18 September 2014). "Brentford defender struggling for Middlesbrough trip". getwestlondon. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
23. @BrentfordFC (14 October 2014). "Welcome back to training @Nico_Yennaris and @samsaunders7" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
24. ^ "Games played by Nico Yennaris in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
25. Moore, Tom (21 February 2015). "GetWestLondon's take on Brentford's impressive win over Bournemouth". MyLondon. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
26. Lewis, Matt (27 February 2015). "Wycombe Wanderers tie up loan deals for Brentford pair". getwestlondon. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
27. Wickham, Chris. "Brentford pair Sam Saunders and Nico Yennaris extend Wycombe Wanderers loan until the end of the season". Brentford FC. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
28. Wickham, Chris. "Brentford pair Sam Saunders and Nico Yennaris extend Wycombe Wanderers loan". Brentford FC. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
29. "Wycombe Wanderers 2–2 Stevenage". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
30. Wickham, Chris. "Brentford defender Nico Yennaris named in Football League Team of the Week appearing on loan for Wycombe Wanderers". Brentford FC. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
31. Styles, Greg (25 April 2015). "Late winner dents Blues' promotion hopes". Bucks Free Press. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
32. "Wycombe Wanderers Table on Saturday 2nd May 2015". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
33. "Southend United 1–1 Wycombe Wanderers (7–6 pens)". BBC. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
34. "Matchday Centre: Oxford United". Brentford FC. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
35. Moore, Tom (13 August 2015). "Brentford to find out extent of Andreas Bjelland's injury". Retrieved 13 August 2015.
36. ^ "Games played by Nico Yennaris in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
37. "Maxime Colin speaks after returning from injury lay-off". Brentford FC. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
38. Moore, Tom (6 May 2016). "Dean Smith offers outline of Brentford's summer transfer plans". getwestlondon. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
39. Wickham, Chris. "Former Arsenal youngster Yennaris signs contract extension at Griffin Park until summer 2019". Brentford FC. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
40. Moore, Tom (26 July 2016). "Brentford boss Dean Smith gives injury update after Peterborough friendly". Retrieved 6 August 2016.
41. Street, Tim (30 December 2016). "Brentford midfielder opens up on his mystery injury problems". getwestlondon. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
42. ^ "Games played by Nico Yennaris in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
43. Moore, Tom (17 March 2017). "Brentford midfielder suffers injury setback". getwestlondon. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
44. "Birmingham City vs Brentford team line-ups and match report". Retrieved 3 January 2017.
45. ""The only way that this club is going is forward"". Brentford FC. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
46. "Monthly Bulletins – Players under Written Contract – June 2017". The FA. p. 11. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
47. "Yennaris signs new contract". Brentford FC. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
48. Street, Tim (16 December 2017). "Why Brentford midfielder is now starting more games". MyLondon. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
49. Moore, Tom (17 August 2017). "Brentford availability update for trip to Ipswich". getwestlondon. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
50. "Brentford midfielder Ryan Woods announces tragic loss of baby". Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
51. "Maxime Colin joins Birmingham City". Brentford FC. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
52. "Dean looking ahead to 'mouth-watering fixtures' over Christmas". Brentford FC. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
53. ^ "Nico: "We managed the game very well"". Brentford FC. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
54. ^ "Games played by Nico Yennaris in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
55. ^ "Games played by Nico Yennaris in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
56. ^ "Yennaris departure confirmed". www.brentfordfc.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
57. "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.
58. "Li Ke: I aim to do even better with China PR, Beijing FC". The-AFC. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
59. "Summary – CSL – China PR – Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
60. ^ "Beijing Guoan midfielder Li Ke has third operation on leg problem". Xinhua. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
61. "Li Ke's season doubtful due to uncommon injury". Xinhua. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
62. Hurley, Lee (17 December 2022). "Arsenal training return as more move: Ex-Arsenal roundup". Retrieved 23 December 2022.
63. ^ 国内足球综合 (30 March 2023). "李可：我没有所谓的B计划 今年又是国安争冠的好时机". sports.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
64. @titan_plus (1 February 2024). "Beijing Guoan announce contract renewal with Li Ke. Since joining Beijing Guoan in 2019, the China international, nee Nico Yennaris, has played 4 years for the CSL team. After two injury-laden years, Li Ke made 19 appearances in the 2023 CSL season" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
65. "Tables - Chinese Super League - China PR". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
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. ^ "Nico Yennaris". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
72. "Victory over Guam boosts Team China's World Cup hope". chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
73. "李可因家庭原因离队，徐新顶替国足后腰位置_训练_球员_扬科维奇". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
74. "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.
75. "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.
76. ^ "Games played by Nico Yennaris in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
77. "Arsenal Youth 5 : Nottingham Forest Youth 3". Arsenal.com. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2014.

External links

• Nico Yennaris at Soccerbase
• Nico Yennaris – UEFA competition record (archive)
• Nico Yennaris at National-Football-Teams.com
• Li Ke at Premier League
• Nico Yennaris at thefa.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 29 November 2014)
• Li Ke at thecfa.cn

• 1993 births
• Living people
• Footballers from the London Borough of Waltham Forest
• People from Leyton
• Chinese men's footballers
• China men's international footballers
• Naturalized citizens of the People's Republic of China
• Arsenal F.C. players
• Brentford F.C. players
• Notts County F.C. players
• AFC Bournemouth players
• Beijing Guoan F.C. players
• English Football League players
• Premier League players
• Chinese Super League players
• Men's association football midfielders
• England men's youth international footballers
• English men's footballers
• British Asian footballers
• British people of Greek Cypriot descent
• English people of Chinese descent
• English people of Greek Cypriot descent
• Chinese people of Greek Cypriot descent
• Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players
• Men's association football fullbacks
• Naturalised association football players
• English emigrants to China
• 21st-century English sportsmen