Emanuel Emegha

Emmanuel Esseh Emegha (born 3 February 2003) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Chelsea and the Netherlands national team.

Club career Born in the neighborhood of Schilderswijk, The Hague, Emegha started playing football at Vredenburch in Rijswijk.

Sparta Rotterdam Emegha started his professional career at Sparta Rotterdam in 2020. In his first season, he played 16 matches. In the 2021–22 season, he appeared in every match until January.

Royal Antwerp On 31 January 2022, Emegha signed a five-year contract with Royal Antwerp in Belgium.

Sturm Graz

In August 2022, after having played only a few minutes for Antwerp, Emegha moved to Sturm Graz in Austria and signed a contract for four years there.

On 30 April 2023, Emegha started in Sturm Graz's 2-0 win over Rapid Wien in the Austrian Cup final where he assisted the go-ahead goal that was scored by Manprit Sarkaria, and would score the cup securing goal himself 15 minutes later. It was the first trophy that he won in his football career.

Strasbourg On 22 July 2023, Emegha signed for Strasbourg on a five-year deal for €13 million. On 27 July 2025, Emegha was named Strasbourg captain following the transfer of former captain Habib Diarra.

Chelsea On 12 September 2025, Premier League club Chelsea announced an agreement with Strasbourg for Emegha to join the club in the summer of 2026.

International career Born in the Netherlands to a Togolese-French father and Nigerian mother, Emegha is a youth international for the Netherlands. He also holds Togolese, French and Nigerian nationalities.

On 11 November 2025, he was called up to the senior Netherlands squad for the first time by manager, Ronald Koeman, after Wout Weghorst had to pull out as he was not fully fit due to his physical condition. Subsequently, on 14 November 2025, Emegha made his debut for the senior Netherlands team as a late substitute for Memphis Depay in the 1–1 draw vs Poland in 2026 World Cup qualification match.

Personal life For years, Emegha spelled his first name with just one "m" citing: "I was lazy and thought one 'm' was enough”. Jong Sparta adopted that spelling, but the Royal Dutch Football Association uses the official spelling with a double "m". He has a twin brother, Joshua.

Career statistics Club

International

Honours Sturm Graz Austrian Cup: 2022–23