Rising Above Setbacks: Eddie Nketiah’s Unseen Football Voyage

Edward Keddar Nketiah is one of many fast-growing English footballers of Ghanaian descent. His football journey began when he caught the eye of Chelsea scouts at just nine years old while playing for the south-east London Sunday team, Hillyfielders. Starting his career at Chelsea, Eddie unfortunately faced release from the club in 2015. This article delves into the complete journey of a young man who faced early challenges but persisted in forging a promising career in professional football. His story highlights his unwavering determination to silence doubters and his resilience in overcoming obstacles. Now, let’s explore Eddie’s journey in detail.

In a nutshell, this is the story of the striker’s life journey, from Eddie’s boyhood days in southeast London to the heights of his fame in football. To pique your interest in his autobiography, here’s a glimpse from his early years to his rise to prominence — a concise intro of Eddie Nketiah’s life story.

Yes, you and I know Eddie for his pace, movement, and finishing abilities, one which has made fans compare him to former Arsenal Legend Ian Wright (his mentor).

However, not many football fans have read a concise piece of Eddie Nketiah’s Biography, which is quite interesting. Now, without further ado, let’s begin.

Eddie Nketiah Childhood Story:

For Biography starters, his real name is “Edward.” Eddie Keddar Nketiah was born on the 30th day of May 1999 to Ghanaian parents in the London Borough of Lewisham, United Kingdom. He is the youngest son in his family, with two older sisters.

Eddie spent his early life in southeast London, which is also home to fellow footballers such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek and the Wright family (including Ian and Shaun Wright-Phillips).

More importantly, the place where Eddie Nketiah’s family lived (Lewisham) is the home of English singer and songwriter Natasha Bedingfield.

Just like many locals of the town (Lewisham), Little Eddie, as a child, enjoyed the benefit of not having to travel uptown for breathtaking views of London’s skyline.

Pictured below, the town’s Telegraph Hill took care of his sight-seeing troubles.

Eddie Nketiah Family Background:

Judging from his looks, you’ll agree with us that Eddie Nketiah’s family roots are most likely to be traced to Africa.

The truth is, the English striker is of Ghanaian and West African family origin and heritage. In fact, both of Eddie Nketiah’s parents (pictured below) are Ghanaians.

Eddie Nketiah Biography – Early Years Before Football:

Nketiah, who was the youngest child in his family, enjoyed lots of special treatment from his parents and elder sisters.

As the baby of the house, there was always someone to help him do his homework. Most importantly, there was freedom for him to decide his destiny at a young age.

Away from his family home, Eddie Nketiah’s parents (notably his dad) approved him playing soccer with friends in London’s football-flavoured South-east.

When asked about his introduction to football, Eddie Nketiah shared with GafferONLINE that it was his father who first started kicking the soccer ball around with him at home and in their family garden. He recalled how he later moved on to playing with his friends as he grew more passionate about the sport.

The young football prodigy enjoyed competitive games, especially those between southern London kids and the Northern boys (Gaffer Reports).

Just like Jadon Sancho, Josh Koroma and Reiss Nelson, Eddie was actively involved in London competitive football games for kids.

Honing his craft on the streets of Lewisham via tournaments finally paid its dividends as it led to little Eddie getting scouted by Chelsea FC academy.

Eddie Nketiah Childhood Story – Early Career Life:

In 2008, Eddie Nketiah’s family celebrated with immense joy as he passed Chelsea’s academy trials and secured a place on the club’s academy roster.

While in Chelsea FC Academy, Eddie played alongside academy stars like Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi. (Oh! you’ didn’t know that??!!).

His playing style was compared to that of Jermain Defoe due to his movement and sharpshooting ability from all angles. While everything seemed to be going on perfectly, little did Eddie know that some DARK MOMENTS were coming his way.

The Difficult Road to Fame Story:

The Chelsea Academy Rejection: 

During Didier Drogba‘s era, there was significant pressure on Chelsea’s young talents to perform. Many of these promising players were often loaned out due to concerns about their readiness for the competitive first team. Eddie Nketiah, in particular, faced criticism for his physical stature as a striker during his time.

Sadly, the young football prodigy, like some of his academy mates, fell victim to academy rejection. Eddie wasn’t even sent on loan BUT was rejected and released by Chelsea in the year 2015.

Eddie Nketiah’s parents, family members and close friends comforted him during his trying time.

In fact, any child who has lived through an academy rejection will know only too well the deep emotional pain and damaging psychological consequences it can have.

The pains of rejection constituted a vital part of Eddie Nketiah’s biography, one which he would never forget in a hurry.

Eddie Nketiah Biography – Rise to Fame Story:

Understanding their boy’s desire to play football for a living, Eddie Nketiah’s family members, notably his dad, did all they could to get him back to playing at another club.

As luck would have it, Arsenal FC picked the young boy up and gave him a football scholarship just two weeks after Chelsea had rejected him.

Since joining Arsenal, Eddie has never looked back, as he began to impress his coaches. He showed a fantastic leap and a determined attitude, one which brought great character in him and a desire to score.

As regards his rise, first, the youngster helped the team to win his first professional football honour- The Premier League 2 trophy.

Following Arsenal academy graduation, Eddie began to achieve a meteoric rise with the club.

Another major highlight in Eddie Nketiah’s rise in career came in 2018, the year he helped his England U21 teammates win the famous Toulon Tournament.

At this stage, Eddie felt three things in his mind. First was that his “Youth Mission was accomplished“.

The second was that his “Footballing Reputation had been installed“, and the third was the feeling that his “Destiny has been partly delivered“.

Notable among those who lifted the trophy included Hamza Choudhury (DM), Kyle Walker-Peters (RB), Fikayo Tomori (CB), Tammy Abraham and Tom Davies.

At the time of writing Eddie Nketiah’s biography, he is now considered a very much modern-day centre-forward, one who is currently fulfilling his senior football destiny. The rest, as they say, is now history.

Love Life:

With Eddie Nketiah’s rising success at a young age, it’s natural for English and Arsenal fans to wonder about his personal life, including his romantic relationships. People are curious whether he’s married or has a girlfriend, or even children. Eddie’s good looks, characterized by his youthful appearance and distinctive features like his pink lips, certainly make him a catch, both for potential girlfriends and as a British or African wife material.

After hours of intensive research on the web, we’ve come to the realization that the striker has not made his relationship official (public) at the time of writing.

Currently, Eddie Nketiah’s social media account (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) does not reflect his involvement with anyone. But, it could be that he is secretly dating someone…who knows?…

Lifestyle (The Big Car):

Getting to know Eddie Nketiah’s Lifestyle would help you get a complete picture of his living standard.

In case you didn’t know (probably because you just landed from Mars), Eddie is someone who surely knows how to put his £16,426 per week salary into some good use. Check out his cool Ride!!.

About Eddie Nketiah’s lifestyle, the English boy has no issues in letting the world see the flashy part of his life. According to GafferOnline, Eddie once claimed he is flashy but doesn’t show too much of it. In his words,

“I’d like to say I’m quite understated, BUT not too flashy. I just like to keep things calm and chilled.

I’m into my clothes massively, always looking into new brands, thou i like to keep stuffs nice and understated.”

Eddie Nketiah’s Personal Life:

Who is Eddie Nketiah?… What Makes Him Tick?…. Starting off, he is someone who feels very comfortable in his own style of showing off and then has the tendency to look normal (like an average London youth).

Eddie is someone who constantly seeks personal growth, both on and off the pitch. Also on Eddie Nketiah’s personal life, he is polite to everyone he encounters throughout the day, very inquisitive about growth and willing to learn a little bit more about the world around him.

For Eddie, playing computer games and getting mentored by his idol are all signs of happy living.

Aside from football, he spends quality time with the famous Arsenal legend- Ian Wright. Aside from the legend, Eddie also learned from Thierry Henry, another of his idols. In his words,

“When I was growing up, Ian Wright was the man I looked up to, and I’ve always been a big Arsenal fan even thou he was in Chelsea.”

Eddie Nketiah Family Life:

By virtue of Eddie being born in England but having Ghanaian family origin (similar to Jarell Quansah and Kobbie Mainoo) and heritage, the battle to get his allegiance should be very interesting.

In this section, we’ll throw more light on Eddie Nketiah’s family members, beginning with his parents.

More About Eddie Nketiah’s Dad:

The super dad is the first point of contact for his beloved last-born child whenever things go wrong.

Over the years, Eddie Nketiah’s dad has instilled values in him, one which has positively affected his outlook on life.

According to GafferOnline, Eddie once said that his experienced dad taught him patience and knowledge about managing setbacks.

About Eddie Nketiah’s Mum:

Great mothers have produced great sons, and the mother of Eddie Nketiah isn’t an exception. Being the only boy and last child of the Nketiah family, Eddie once said that he gets special treatment from his mum.

This is his price for being her last card and the baby of the house. Eddie Nketiah’s mother is responsible for her son’s good morals, one which he said has affected his outlook on life.

More About Eddie Nketiah’s Sisters:

According to GafferOnline, Eddie once said that having a family with lovely sisters surely makes his family tight-knit.

Yes! as the last-born child, his sisters boss him around, and of course, Eddie likes it and claims he is still in firm control (GafferOnline Report).

Nevertheless, both of Eddie Nketiah’s sisters have always supported him, and the footballer never stops stressing how much he owes them.

Eddie Nketiah Facts:

His Salary Breakdown:

Since his breakthrough, lots of fans have asked the question: how much does Eddie Nketiah earn?….

In the year 2017, the forward’s contract saw him pocketing a whopping salary of around £800.000 per year. More surprising below is his salary breakdown per year, month, day, hour, minute and second.

Did you know?… The average man in the UK needs to work for at least 2.2 years to earn £67,346, which is the amount Eddie Nketiah earns in 1 month.

About his “CALL ME” Goal Celebration:

When interviewed on GafferOnline, Eddie was asked about his trademark goal celebration named ‘calling’. In his words,

“my calling celebration started during a pre-season with Arsenal which i came on very late.

approaching the last minute, we were drawing against Bayern Munich. Suddenly, I scored pretty much straight away without touching the ball properly.

After the match, Arsenal media tweeted saying: ‘IF YOU Need a goal? Better call Eddie!!.’ The celebration style just stucked from there.”

Eddie Nketiah’s Religion:

Judging by his middle name “Kedar”, there is a possibility that Eddie Nketiah’s parents could be Muslims.

Did you know?… Kedar means “Powerful” in Arabic, and it is an Arabic Muslim name given to the second son of Ishmael. Don’t also forget that Kedar is the grandson of Abraham and Hagar.

Hence, it is possible that Eddie Nketiah’s family members are Muslims by religion. They are not Christians, as many fans might think.

Eddie Nketiah’s Tattoos:

Finally, there is a talk about himself and his tattoos. The truth is that Eddie does not believe in “Tattoo Culture“, a theme that is very popular in today’s sporting world.

The 5.74ft striker at the time of writing doesn’t feel the need to have inks of his family members, girlfriend and his future kids as body arts.

Fact Check:

Thanks for reading Eddie Nketiah’s Biography and Untold Childhood story. We strive for accuracy and fairness.

If you find something that doesn’t look right, please share it with us by commenting below. We’ll always value and respect your ideas.