Nigeria centre-forward Adeleke Akinyemi has joined Azerbaijan club Neftchi PFK from Finland’s IF Gnistan, completing a move on 6 September 2026.
The 28-year-old Lagos-born striker arrives at the Premyer Liqa side after spending the opening part of the 2026-27 season with IF Gnistan. Akinyemi joined the Finnish club from Ilves on a free transfer in January 2026.
Akinyemi’s career has included spells in Finland, Latvia, Norway, Albania, Kosovo and the Czech Republic. His record in the Veikkausliiga stands at 16 goals in 37 appearances, while he scored 23 goals in 38 Virsliga matches.
He also made a notable impact in European qualifying, scoring seven times in six Europa League qualifying appearances and adding one assist. In the Latvian Cup, he scored seven goals in seven matches.
Akinyemi began his European career with Serdarli GB before moving to KF Skenderbeu in Albania. He later played for KF Trepca ’89, Renova and Real Sapphire, then joined Latvian club JFK Ventspils in 2017.
During his time at Ventspils, Akinyemi helped the club win the Latvian Cup in 2017. He also finished as the Virsliga’s leading scorer in the 2016-17 season with 10 goals.
The striker moved to Norway with IK Start in 2018 after Ventspils received a €700,000 fee. He subsequently had a loan spell with HamKam before returning to Start, and later joined Albanian side KF Laci on a free transfer in January 2022.
Akinyemi transferred to Czech club MFK Karvina from Laci for €50,000 in February 2023 and was part of the Karvina side that won the Czech second division in the 2022-23 campaign. He later left for Ilves in August 2024 before his move to Gnistan.
A right-footed forward standing 1.86m tall, Akinyemi now continues his career with Neftchi PFK in Azerbaijan. His transfer to the Baku-based club was completed on 6 September 2026.