Biography
Sone Aluko was a trick-heavy attacking midfielder who joined Hull City in July 2012 to add goals and creativity to Steve Bruce’s Championship promotion chasing Tigers. He quickly delivered with goals and assists that propelled City into the top two by January 2013, when Sone suffered an injury that ended his season. With the Tigers returned to the Premier League for the 2013/14 season and Aluko fit again, he announced his return with a stunning volley that sealed a September 2013 victory against Newcastle United. But as the season wore on Aluko struggled again with injuries and played a peripheral role, coming on as substitute in the May 2014 FA Cup final and missing a gilt-edged chance late-on.
In August 2014 he scored against AS Trencin, one of the four goals netted in City’s Europa League campaign that followed the FA Cup final appearance. For the next two seasons Sone was deployed primarily as a late substitute when Steve Bruce’s side was chasing the game. He left the Tigers in July 2016.
Omatsone Folarin “Sone” Aluko was born in Hounslow, West London but raised in the West Midlands city of Birmingham. He was associated with the youth team system at Birmingham City from the late 1990s onwards and came through the ranks at a time when Steve Bruce was managing the first team. He was given a squad number and deployed as unused first team substitute as early as October 2005, when still 16 years of age, but had to wait nearly two more years for his first team debut in an August 2007 League Cup tie against Hereford United – this ended up being his only senior appearance for the Blues.
Straight after that debut in September 2007 Aluko joined Scottish Premier League side Aberdeen on a season-long loan and quickly broke into the Dons’ first team, assisting his side to semi-final appearances in both the Scottish FA Cup and the Scottish League Cup and also scoring a goal and assisting another in a notable February 2008 UEFA Cup 2-2 draw against German giants Bayern Munich. He ended his loan spell at Pittodrie with four goals in 28 appearances.
In early August 2008 Sone joined Championship side Blackpool on a short term loan and made 2 appearances in four days. At the end of August 2008 he transferred to Aberdeen, the club he impressed on loan the previous season, for a £50,000 fee. Over the next three seasons he was a regular presence on the Dons’ left wing, scoring nine goals in 95 appearances – in April 2011 he played in his second Scottish FA Cup semi-final, losing out to Celtic. Sone left Aberdeen in July 2011 when his contract expired and had a trial with Italian giants Juventus that came to nothing. In November 2011 he returned to Scotland and signed for Scottish Premier League titans Glasgow Rangers, finding his goalscoring form with twelve goals in 23 appearances including a May 2012 hattrick against St Johnstone. But when the Gers were relegated down the Scottish Leagues in the summer of 2012 due to financial irregularities, Aluko alongside many other players left the club. His goalscoring feats at Ibrox led to his July 2012 move to Hull City where he reunited with Steve Bruce, the man that handed Sone his senior debut five years earlier.
Aluko left Hull City in the summer of 2016 when his contract was not renewed. He joined Championship side Fulham in July 2016 and had a successful season in the second tier, missing only one League match all season and scoring an FA Cup goal in January 2017 against his Tigery former employees. At the start of the 2017/18 season Sone took his Fulham tally to nine goals in 54 appearances before joining Championship rivals Reading in late August 2017 for a fee reputed to be £7 million. His first season at Reading was a success, playing regular first team football in a side that was struggling at the lower end of the Championship table. However over the subsequent three years of his contract Sone was used sporadically by the Royals. Between March and July 2019 he was loaned to Chinese Super League side Beijing Renhe where he scored three goals in 16 appearances. Aluko returned to the Reading first team squad for the 2020/21 season and was used regularly off the bench, when he left the Royals in June 2021 he had scored six goals for the club in 102 appearances across four seasons.
In August 2021 Aluko joined League One side Ipswich Town and was a support player for three seasons as the Suffolk side leapt from the third tier to the Premier League via two successive promotions. In May 2024 Sone announced his retirement from playing, his Ipswich Town tally resting at four goals in 62 appearances. By the time he announced his retirement Sone had already begun a second career as a television pundit, following in the footsteps of his sister Eni Aluko, an England international footballer for many years.
In July 2024 Aluko joined the first team coaching staff at newly promoted Premier League side Ipswich Town, continuing his career with the Tractor Boys after his retirement from playing two months earlier.
Aluko was eligible to play international football for both England and Nigeria. He initially chose to play for England, making four England Under-16 appearances during the 2004/05 season and adding one Under-17 appearance in December 2005 against Turkey. In September 2006 and March 2007 he won England Under-18 caps against France and Holland, then between September 2007 and March 2008 he made three appearances for England Under-19s against Belarus, Germany and Russia.
In early 2009 Aluko switched his allegiance to Nigeria, making his senior debut for the Super Eagles against Ireland in May 2009. He then made three appearances for the Nigerian Under-20s during September and October 2009. Sone returned to the international fold in June 2012, winning his second Nigeria cap against Rwanda. He added five more caps between September 2014 and March 2015, scoring twice against South Africa in November 2014. His international career ended with a March 2015 cap against Uganda, in total he scored two goals in 7 international appearances.
Details
Nationality: Nigeria
Date/Place of Birth: 19 February 1989, Hounslow
Hull City First Game: 18 August 2012, Brighton & Hove Albion H (Championship), 23 years, 181 days old
Hull City Final Game: 30 April 2016, Bolton Wanderers A (Championship), 27 years, 71 days old
Clubs
Birmingham City (2005-2008), Aberdeen (2007-2008, loan), Blackpool (2008, loan), Aberdeen (2008-2011), Glasgow Rangers (2011-2012), Hull City (2012-2016), Fulham (2016-2017), Reading (2017-2021), Beijing Renhe (2019, loan), Ipswich Town (2021-2024)
Hull City Record
Career: 108 apps, 14 goals
Sone Aluko| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012/13 | 22 (1) | 8 | – | – | 0 (1) | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 2013/14 | 10 (7) | 1 | 3 (2) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2014/15 | 13 (12) | 1 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 3 (1) | 1 | – | – |
| 2015/16 | 8 (17) | 3 | 2 (2) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | – | – | 3 (0) | 0 |