Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis (born 15 November 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He is currently a free agent following his departure from Premier League club Nottingham Forest. [2]
Dennis began his career at Kwara Football Academy Ilorin, located in Kwara State, Nigeria.[3]
In March 2016, Dennis signed with Ukrainian Premier League club Zorya Luhansk.[4] He made his debut in a game against Olimpik Donetsk on 24 July 2016, where he scored the opener in a 3–0 victory.[5]
Dennis started the season on the bench mostly before being given his UEFA Europa League debut to Feyenoord on 3 November, which ended 1–1. After impressing against Feyenoord, he also played in the Ukrainian side's other group stage games, to Fenerbahçe and Manchester United. Zorya lost 2–0 in both matches and were eliminated from the group having finished in last place.
On 11 December, Dennis scored his second goal in a 2–0 win over Stal Kamianske. His performances attracted both Manchester City as well as an unknown Bundesliga side, who were interested in signing him in the winter transfer window.[6][7] However, Dennis instead ended up staying with Zorya for the rest of the season, helping them to a third place in the league with his six goals in 22 league appearances.
Club Brugge announced on 30 May 2017 that they had signed Dennis on a four-year deal for a fee of €1.2 million.[8] He was given the number 42 jersey shirt. Dennis started the season extremely well, scoring five goals in six matches, including one on his debut on 26 July 2017 to İstanbul Başakşehir, a 3–3 draw and a brace three days later in the league over Lokeren, which finished in a 4–0 victory.
On 1 October 2019, Dennis scored twice in a 2–2 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium against Real Madrid in the group stage of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League season.[9][10][11]
Dennis claimed three league titles during his time at Club Brugge, in 2017–18,[12] 2019–20,[13] and in 2020–21[14], spending the second half of the season on loan at 1. FC Köln, but having playing minutes in the first-half of the season to claim a league winners medal.[15]
On 25 January 2021, Bundesliga side 1. FC Köln announced that they had signed Dennis on a loan deal until the end of the season.[16] He made a total of nine league appearances during his time in Germany.
On 21 June 2021, Watford confirmed they had reached an agreement with Club Brugge for the transfer of Dennis.[17] A five-year contract was signed two days later.[18] On 14 August, Dennis scored on his Watford debut in their league opener against Aston Villa, where Watford won 3–2.[19] Dennis was nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award for November 2021[20] after scoring and creating two assists in a 4–1 win against Manchester United[21] and scoring in a 4–2 defeat at Leicester City.[22]
On 13 August 2022, Dennis signed with Premier League side Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed transfer fee.[23] The transfer fee was reported to be £10 million.[24] However he failed to replicate the excellent form that he showed during his spell at Watford; struggling to establish himself in the newly-promoted Forest team. His last appearance for Forest was in May 2023 and he was eventually dropped from the squad altogether for the 2024-25 season, casting serious doubt on his future at the club.[25]
On 15 September 2023, Dennis signed with Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir on loan for the 2023–24 season.[26] On 22 January 2024, Nottingham Forest terminated his loan deal with Istanbul Basaksehir to facilitate a move back to former club Watford on loan.[27]
On 3 February 2025, Dennis joined Championship side Blackburn Rovers on a loan deal until the end of the season.[28]
On 31 August 2025 it was announced that Nottingham Forest and Dennis had mutually agreed to end his contract.[29]
Dennis represented Nigeria at under-23 level[3] before being called up to the senior team. He made his debut on 10 September 2019 in a 2–2 friendly draw to Ukraine, coming on as a 82nd-minute substitute for Samuel Chukwueze.[30]
The Nigeria Football Federation attempted to call Dennis up to the squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, accusing Watford of refusing to release Dennis. However, the NFF had failed to ask for his release in time.[31][32] Dennis was part of the Nigerian squad that lost on away goals with an aggregate score-line of 1–1 to the Black Stars of Ghana in the third round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying.[33][34]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Zorya Luhansk | 2016–17 | Ukrainian Premier League | 22 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 26 | 6 | |
| Club Brugge | 2017–18 | Belgian Pro League | 30 | 7 | 4 | 4 | — | 4[d] | 1 | 38 | 12 | |
| 2018–19 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 5[e] | 0 | 32 | 7 | |||
| 2019–20 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | 11[f] | 4 | 33 | 9 | |||
| 2020–21 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[g] | 1 | 13 | 1 | |||
| Total | 85 | 19 | 7 | 4 | — | 24 | 6 | 116 | 29 | |||
| 1. FC Köln (loan) | 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 10 | 1 | ||
| Watford | 2021–22 | Premier League | 33 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 10 | |
| 2022–23 | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 35 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 37 | 10 | |||
| Nottingham Forest | 2022–23 | Premier League | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 25 | 2 | |
| 2023–24 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2025–26 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 | ||
| İstanbul Başakşehir (loan) | 2023–24 | Süper Lig | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Watford (loan) | 2023–24 | Championship | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 4 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 2024–25 | Championship | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 201 | 41 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 27 | 6 | 247 | 52 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2019 | 2 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 8 | 1 | |
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 13 June 2022 | Stade Adrar, Agadir, Morocco |  São Tomé and Príncipe |
10–0 | 10–0 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
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_14_(cropped).jpg "Emmanuel Dennis")
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