Gianluca Okon
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gianluca Tommaso Okon-Engstler | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 24 January 2009 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Club NXT | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 86 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2025 | Club Brugge | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Club NXT | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Australia U17 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Italy U16 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Italy U17 | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11 April 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 7 June 2026 | |||||||||||||||||
Gianluca Tommaso Okon-Engstler (born 24 January 2009) is a footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Club NXT. Born in Australia, he has represented Italy and Australia at youth international level.
Early life
[edit]Okon was born on 24 January 2009 in Australia. The son of Australia international Paul Okon, he is the younger brother of Australian soccer player Paul Okon-Engstler.[1]
Club career
[edit]As a youth player, Okon joined the youth academy of Belgian side Club Brugge KV. In 2024, he was promoted to the club's reserve team.[2]
International career
[edit]Okon-Engstler is eligible to represent Belgium through birth, Australia, Italy and Germany through his father, and Cuba through his mother.[3][4] Okon is an Australia and Italy youth international. On 4 September 2025, he debuted for the Italy under-17 team during a 2–1 away friendly win over Portugal.
Style of play
[edit]Okon plays as a defensive midfielder and is right-footed. Italian news website wrote in 2025 that he is "a midfielder with great quality, an excellent right-footed pass, but also good physicality and timing in the box that allow him to see the goal with ease".[5]
Honours
[edit]Italy U17
References
[edit]- ↑ "Sua papà ha giocato in Serie A e il fratello maggiore è in un top club europeo, lui a soli 16 anni si fa notare in Nazionale" [His father played in Serie A and his older brother is in a top European club, he is only 16 years old and makes his mark in the national team] (in Italian). Sprint e Sport. 5 June 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ↑ Gianluca Okon at WorldFootball.net
- ↑ "Paul Okon-Engstler: el talento australiano del Benfica lleva una vida loca como un padre" [Paul Okon-Engstler: Benfica's Australian talent leads a crazy life like a father]. teknomers.com (in Spanish). 20 December 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
- ↑ "Okon-Engstler: Australia is a match for any nation".
- ↑ "Okon, l'Italia sfida l'Australia per il figlio di Paul: il Bruges ha il nuovo Jashari in casa" [Okon, Italy challenges Australia for Paul's son: Brugge have the new Jashari at home] (in Italian). Calciomercato.com. 20 July 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ↑ "2026 Under-17 EURO final highlights: Belgium 1-1 Italy (Italy win 4-3 on penalties)". uefa.com. 7 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
External links
[edit]- Gianluca Okon at WorldFootball.net
- 2009 births
- Living people
- Italian men's footballers
- Italy men's youth international footballers
- Australian men's soccer players
- Australia men's youth international soccer players
- Italian people of Australian descent
- Italian people of Cuban descent
- Italian people of German descent
- Australian people of Italian descent
- Australian people of Cuban descent
- Australian people of German descent
- Men's association football midfielders
- Club NXT players
- 21st-century Italian sportsmen