Leke Samson James is a 28-year-old Nigerian striker. The Kaduna born forward is about 6 feet 2 inches tall and wears the number 10 shirt for one of the best football clubs in Norway. This article will look at the biography, salary and net worth of Leke James.
Leke James: Biography
Leke started in Nigeria playing with youth side Bridge Boys, a club affiliated to a now-defunct Nigerian Premier League team Julius Berger FC. James would begin his European adventure in 2012, moving to top-flight Norwegian side Aalesunds FK. The striker would go on to make a name for himself at the club, where he would score 45 goals in a total 101 appearances for the Tangotroyene. Leke’s impressive performances for his Norwegian side would earn him a lucrative contract in 2015 when he moved to Chinese club side, Beijing Enterprises. He spent 2 seasons in China, scoring 13 goals in 27 appearances. Injuries greatly affected the Kaduna native during his time in China, but it wouldn’t be long before he would get a lifeline.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, who was then the coach of Molde FC, enquired about Leke and offered him a chance to reignite his career back in Norway. James took up the challenge of signing for Molde FC on 30th April 2018.
He would repay the faith shown in him and get back to goalscoring form, hitting 43 goals in 83 appearances so far for Molde. Some of these included hat-tricks against fellow Eliteserein side Stromsgodset and Icelandic club side KR Reykjavik in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers. He won the Norwegian Eliteserien with Molde in 2019. He is a tall, fast striker that loves to shoot at goal. He is good aerially and loves to take up scoring positions.
Leke has also featured for Nigerian national teams at the cadet level. He was part of the silver winning squad at the FIFA U17 World Cup hosted by Nigeria in 2009. He also played for the U23s that failed to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics football competition.
Leke James is yet to earn a senior cap with the national team.
James is happily married with two children. Outside of football, he also runs a foundation. According to an interview he gave to Nigerian national newspaper The Nation, the foundation was set up as a way to give back to the community he was born in. The foundation organizes local football tournaments in his native Kaduna to discover young talents who will hopefully impress and get discovered by European football scouts with the eventual aim of moving overseas to improve their careers. He also stated that he would have been a medical doctor.
Leke James: Salary and Net worth
Like a lot of clubs, Molde do not publicly disclose the salaries of their players. However, it is reported that he earns around €9,000 a week at the club. Leke James’ net worth is estimated to be around €1 million.
