GABRIEL ZAKUANI

'Gabriel "Gabby" Zakuani' (born May 31 1986 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo) is a professional footballer currently playing for Stoke City on loan from Fulham.
Zakuani moved to London in 1992 where Leyton Orient spotted him playing in one of his school matches as a 14 year old. After two seasons in the Youth Team, the 16-year-old was given his first team debut in a match against Bury in March 2003.
In the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons he become a regular in Martin Ling's plans, making the central defence position his own at Orient. He scored 3 goals in almost 100 first team appearances for the O's.
In January 2006, Zakuani was part of the Leyton Orient side that overcame Fulham, 2-1, in the FA Cup 3rd round. Zakuani and his team mates were eventually knocked out of the Cup by another Premiership outfit, Charlton Athletic.
In July 2006, he was signed by Fulham for a fee of £1m, rising to £1.5m depending on appearances, on a four-year contract. The fee represented a club record for Leyton Orient.
Zakuani made his international debut for the Democratic Republic of Congo in August 2005 against Guinea.
Zakuani signed for Stoke City on loan for the remainder of the season.^[1] Despite being a natural centre back, Zakuani also deputised as a right back during his loan spell.
On 31 August 2007, Gabby again signed for Stoke City on loan. This time for the rest of the 2007–08 season.^[2]

Contents

References

External links

References

1. Stoke snap up Hendrie and Zakuani
2. Gabbi's Back!

External links

★

★ Gabriel Zakuani Official Website at Icons.com

★ Premier League player profile

★ BBC report on Fulham transfer