Brian Brobbey

Brian Ebenezer Adjei Brobbey (born 1 February 2002) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Sunderland and the Netherlands national team.

Brobbey began his youth career with AFC before joining the Ajax academy in 2010.

Brobbey made his Ajax debut in the Eredivisie on 31 October 2020, coming on as a substitute and scoring in a 5–2 victory over Fortuna Sittard. He made his European debut in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League against Atalanta on 9 December 2020 and his performance was praised by coach Erik ten Hag.

On 3 February 2021, Ajax director of football Marc Overmars confirmed that Brobbey would leave the club at the expiry of his contract at the end of the season. Brobbey scored his first goal in a European competition on 18 February, netting Ajax's second goal in their Europa League round of 32 first leg away win over Lille.

On 12 March 2021, RB Leipzig announced the signing of Brobbey. He joined them on 1 July 2021.

On 27 December 2021, it was announced that Brobbey would return to Ajax on a six-month loan spell without an option to buy. He was assigned shirt number 18, previously worn that season by Jurgen Ekkelenkamp. He made his first appearance on 16 January 2022 in an away match against FC Utrecht as the starting striker, securing two goals before being substituted off in the 70th minute for Davy Klaassen in a 3–0 victory.

On 22 July 2022, Ajax confirmed the re-signing of Brian Brobbey on a five-year contract for a fee of €16.35 million plus €3 million in potential add ons. He made his competitive return debut on the first matchday of the 2022–23 season, also scoring his first return goal for Ajax in a 3–2 away win over Fortuna Sittard on 6 August. On 16 and 22 October 2022, Brobbey scored back-to-back braces, leading his team to a 7–1 victory over Excelsior and a 4–1 win over RKC Waalwijk, respectively. Brobbey scored 14 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions during the season, as he was in and out of the starting lineup under first head coach Alfred Schreuder, and since interim coach John Heitinga.

In the following season, Brobbey began as a starter in attack under newly appointed manager Maurice Steijn. Despite Ajax enduring a difficult campaign overall, Brobbey enjoyed a strong individual season, finishing as the club's top scorer with 22 goals in 43 appearances across all competitions. He earned back-to-back Eredivisie Player of the Month awards for December 2023 and January 2024, and his performances throughout the season led to him being named Ajax Player of the Year. His prolific form reportedly attracted significant interest from clubs abroad, including Arsenal, during the subsequent transfer window. Brobbey remained at Ajax and continued as the main striker for the 2024–25 season under new manager Francesco Farioli. While Farioli noted in March 2025 that Brobbey's league goal tally was initially lower than expected, he praised the striker's progression and importance to the team. Brobbey contributed goals in both the Eredivisie and the UEFA Europa League campaign, and he won the Eredivisie Player of the Month award for a third time in February 2025.

On 1 September 2025, Brobbey joined Sunderland for a fee of €20m, which could potentially rise to €25m. He scored his first goal for Sunderland on 8 November 2025, netting the injury-time equaliser in a 2–2 draw against Arsenal.

Brobbey represented the Netherlands across various youth levels, most notably the Netherlands U17 team. Brobbey was a key figure in the squad that won back-to-back UEFA European Under-17 Championship titles in 2018 and 2019. During the 2019 final against Italy, he scored in the 4–2 victory to help secure the trophy.

In October 2022, Brobbey was included in the preliminary squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup by manager Louis van Gaal, but he did not make the final selection. He received his first official call-up to the Netherlands senior national team in October 2023 for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against France and Greece. Brobbey made his senior debut on 16 October 2023, coming on as a substitute in the 1–0 away victory against Greece. On 29 May 2024, Brobbey was named in the Netherlands' squad for UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany. He was part of the squad that reached the semi-finals, although his playing time was limited due to competition from Memphis Depay and Wout Weghorst. Brobbey scored his first senior international goal on 19 November 2024 during the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A campaign, netting the opening goal in a 1–1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Bilino Polje Stadium.

Born in the Netherlands, Brobbey is of Ghanaian descent.

He is a younger brother of fellow footballers Samuel Brobbey, Derrick Luckassen and Kevin Brobbey.

As of match played 22 March 2026

As of match played 31 March 2026

Netherlands score listed first, score column indicates score after each Brobbey goal.

Brobbey with Ajax in 2023.

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 2020–21, 2021–22
• KNVB Cup: 2020–21

Netherlands U17

• UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2018, 2019

Individual

• Eredivisie Player of the Month: December 2023, January 2024, February 2025

• Eredivisie Talent of the Month: May 2022, August 2022, October 2022

• Eredivisie Team of the Month: February 2025

• Ajax Player of the Year (Rinus Michels Award): 2023–24

• Profile at the AFC Ajax website

• Profile at the Royal Dutch Football Association website (in Dutch)

• Brian Brobbey – UEFA competition record (archive)