Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ayoub Assal[1] | ||
Date of birth | 21 January 2002 | ||
Place of birth | Maidstone, England | ||
Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
Position(s) | Attacking Midfielder, Winger | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Al-Wakrah | ||
Number | 7 | ||
Youth career | |||
2010–2011 | Millwall | ||
2011–2019 | AFC Wimbledon | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2019–2023 | AFC Wimbledon | 78 | (17) |
2019–2020 | → Metropolitan Police (loan) | 15 | (2) |
2020 | → Billericay Town (loan) | 1 | (0) |
2023– | Al-Wakrah | 20 | (6) |
2023 | → Al-Markhiya (loan) | 14 | (4) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:00, 7 May 2024 (UTC) |
Ayoub Assal (born 21 January 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Qatar Stars League club Al-Wakrah.
Club career
[edit]Assal began his career in the youth system at Millwall, joining AFC Wimbledon at under-12 level. In April 2019, Assal signed his first professional contract with Wimbledon.[2] In August 2019, Assal joined Metropolitan Police on loan.[3] After returning to Wimbledon, he made his debut for the club on 13 November in a 3–1 EFL Trophy loss against Southend United.[4] On 11 January 2020, Assal rejoined Metropolitan Police on loan until 25 April 2020.[5]
In October 2020, Assal joined National League South side Billericay Town.[6] He returned to Wimbledon after making one appearance during his loan, and made his league debut as a substitute against Shrewsbury Town on 2 March 2021, scoring a late equaliser in a 1–1 draw.[7] On 10 April, Assal scored twice for AFC Wimbledon in a 5–1 win against Accrington Stanley,[8] and in May he signed a new three-year contract with Wimbledon.[9]
On 10 December 2022, Assal was awarded the EFL Young Player of the Month Award for November 2022 having scored in all five of Wimbledon's matches across all competitions.[10] This was the second time he had received the award having also won in April 2021,[11] only the second player, after Djed Spence, to win the award twice.
On 18 January 2023, it was announced that the release clause in Assal's contract had been triggered by a bid from a club based in Qatar.[12] On 27 January, Assal completed his transfer to Al-Wakrah,[13] where he signed a five-year contract. The fee was a club record sale for the Dons.[14][15] On 29 January, Assal joined Al-Markhiya on loan for the rest of the season.[16]
International career
[edit]Born in England, Assal is of Moroccan descent. In March 2022, he was called up to the provisional England U20 squad, having previously attended a training camp with Morocco U20.[17]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of match played 7 May 2024
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
AFC Wimbledon | 2019–20[18] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2020–21[19] | League One | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 16 | 4 | |
2021–22[20] | League One | 42 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 49 | 10 | |
2022–23[21] | League Two | 22 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5[a] | 3 | 31 | 10 | |
Total | 78 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 97 | 24 | ||
Metropolitan Police (loan) | 2019–20[5] | Southern League Premier Division South | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 19 | 2 | |
Billericay Town (loan) | 2020–21[5] | National League South | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Al-Wakrah | 2022–23[22] | Qatar Stars League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023–24[22] | Qatar Stars League | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 6 | |
Total | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | ||
Al-Markhiya (loan) | 2022–23[22] | Qatar Stars League | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 |
Career total | 128 | 29 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 153 | 36 |
- ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
- ^ One appearance in FA Trophy, one appearance in Southern League Cup
Honours
[edit]Individual
- EFL Young Player of the Month: April 2021,[11] November 2022[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: AFC Wimbledon" (PDF). English Football League. p. 2. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ "Ayoub Assal". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ "Loan watch: Ayoub stars in FA Cup tie". AFC Wimbledon. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ "Young Dons go down fighting at Southend". AFC Wimbledon. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ a b c "AYOUB ASSAL Profile". aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ "Ayoub joins National League South club on loan". AFC Wimbledon. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ "Shrewsbury 1–1 Wimbledon". BBC. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Dons strike five in rampant away display". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "Spear we go! Ayoub signs until 2024". www.afcwimbledon.co.uk.
- ^ a b "Ayoub Assal named EFL Young Player of the Month for November". www.efl.com. 10 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ a b "AFC Wimbledon rising star wins EFL Young Player of the Month for April". www.efl.com. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ "Update on Ayoub Assal". AFC Wimbledon. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ "Assal leaves AFC Wimbledon for Qatari club". BBC Sport. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ "Done deal! ✍️ We are delighted to announce that our client @ayoubassal1 has signed for @alwakrah_sc on a 5 year deal. A club record transfer fee for @AFCWimbledon. Team @nssm20 #ayoubassal #qsl #afcwimbledon #alwakrahsc". Twitter. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ "📄| نادي #الوكرة يتعاقد رسميًا مع المغربي أيوب عسال لاعب @AFCWimbledon والذي يبلغ من العمر 21 عامًا للدفاع عن شعار الموج الأزرق لمدة خمسة أعوام حتى 2028. #". Twitter (in Arabic). Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ Al-Markhiya SC (29 January 2023). "Our club signed a contract with the player Ayoub Assal". Twitter (in Arabic).
- ^ "Ayoub trains with the Young Lions". www.afcwimbledon.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ "Games played by Ayoub Assal in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Games played by Ayoub Assal in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Games played by Ayoub Assal in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Games played by Ayoub Assal in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ a b c Ayoub Assal at Soccerway