Biography
Tall and elegant defender Semi Ajayi joined Hull City in June 2025 having run down his contract at Championship rivals West Bromwich Albion. He went straight into the Tigers’ first eleven at the start of the 2025/26 season under the management of Sergey Jakirovic, taking the shirt vacated by Alfie Jones.
Oluwasemilogo Adesewo Ibidapo Ajayi, known simply as Semi, was born in the South East London suburb of Crayford, located between Bexley and the River Thames, to parents that both hailed from Nigeria. He progressed through the academy system at Charlton Athletic and signed his first professional contract for the Championship side in January 2012. In November 2012 he joined Conference National side Dartford on a one month loan, scoring one goal in 4 appearances. He made the Charlton first team squad for the first time in January 2013, sitting unused on the bench during a Championship match against Blackpool, but by the end of the 2012/13 season he had not made a first team appearance for the Addicks.
In September 2013 Ajayi joined Premier League side Arsenal. He was a regular for the Gunners’ Premier League 2 side during the 2013/14 season and in October 2014 he was an unused substitute for Arsenal’s Premier League match against Hull City. He made the Arsenal bench on four occasions during the 2014/15 season without making his first team debut, in March 2015 he joined Championship side Cardiff City on a two month loan but made no senior appearances.
He nevertheless did enough to impress the Cardiff City management and in July 2015 he made a permanent switch to the South Wales side having seen his Arsenal contract expire. He failed to make his Cardiff debut in the opening weeks of the 2015/16 season and in September 2015 he joined League Two side AFC Wimbledon on a one month loan, making 5 appearances that featured his senior debut against Northampton Town. Returning to Cardiff in late October, Semi was again on the move in November 2015, joining League One side Crewe Alexandra on a three month loan and making 13 appearances. At the start of the 2016/17 season Ajayi sat on the Cardiff City bench unused for six Championship matches and one League Cup tie, but never made a first team appearance for the Welsh side.
In January 2017 Ajayi joined Championship side Rotherham United on a half season loan, a move that was made permanent in July 2017. He made his debut for the Millers on the last day of January 2017 against Nottingham Forest and scored his first senior goal two weeks later against Huddersfield Town. He was regular for Rotherham during the rest of the season that ended with relegation to League One. Semi was a regular starter for much of the 2017/18 season and netted six goals as the Millers qualified for the play-offs and won promotion back to the Championship by defeating Shrewsbury Town after extra time in the Wembley final – Semi played in all three play-off ties. During the 2018/19 season he played in all 49 of Rotherham’s league and cup matches and scored six goals in five league matches during February and March 2019, but these goals were not enough to lift Rotherham out of the relegation spots. By the 2019 close season Ajayi had scored 15 goals for Rotherham United in 108 appearances, including his loan spell.
In July 2019 Ajayi joined Championship side West Bromwich Albion for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be £1.5 million. He made his debut for the Baggies against Nottingham Forest in August 2019 and scored his first goal for the club in September 2019 against Fulham. He missed only three matches during a season that was prolonged by the COVID-19 pandemic as West Brom finished in the top two and won promotion to the Premier League. In September 2020 he made his Premier League debut for the Baggies against Leicester City, seven years after first joining a Premier League side. He was part of the West Brom first team throughout the 2020/21 season, netting two Premier League goals against Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers, but the season ended with relegation back to the Championship.
For the next two seasons Ajayi was part of Albion’s first team setup, though injuries and international call-ups affected his availability at times. In the 2023/24 season Ajayi was used mostly off the bench as West Brom reached the end of season play-offs, only to lose the semi-final to Southampton – Ajayi played for just nine minutes across these two legs. He was restored as a first team starter at the start of the 2024/25 season until hamstring injuries suffered in November 2024 and March 2025 curtailed his season. He left West Bromwich Albion in June 2025, at the end of his contract, having scored thirteen goals in 177 appearances.
Although born in Greater London, Ajayi qualified to play international football for Nigeria through his parents’ heritage. He made three appearances for Nigeria’s Under-20 side in June 2013 against Belgium, Portugal and Brazil, shortly before his transfer to Arsenal. But it wasn’t until September 2018 that he received his first call-up for the senior squad, winning his first cap for the Super Eagles against Seychelles. He was not selected for Nigeria’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals squad that finished in third place, but returned to the international fold during the 2019/20 season. Absent again between November 2020 and January 2022, Ajayi then became a regular choice for Nigeria under a succession of managers, scoring his first international goal in November 2023 against Lesotho. Ajayi played in all seven ties during the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations finals, when Nigeria reached the final only to lose at the final hurdle to champions Ivory Coast. By June 2025 he had won 43 caps for his country and scored one goal.
Details
Nationality: Nigeria
Date/Place of Birth: 9 November 1993, Crayford
Hull City First Game: 9 August 2025, Coventry City A (Championship), 31 years, 273 days old
Hull City Final Game: [current player]
Clubs
Charlton Athletic (2010-2013), Dartford (2012, loan), Arsenal (2013-2015), Cardiff City (2015, loan), Cardiff City (2015-2017), AFC Wimbledon (2015, loan), Crewe Alexandra (2015-2016, loan), Rotherham United (2017, loan), Rotherham United (2017-2019), West Bromwich Albion (2019-2025), Hull City (2025-current)
Hull City Record
Career: 1 apps, 0 goals
Semi Ajayi| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |