Elias Kachunga (born 22 April 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for National League club Solihull Moors. Born in Germany, Kachunga played for the DR Congo national team.
Early and personal life Kachunga was born in Haan, Germany, to a Congolese father and a German mother.
Club career Kachunga spent his early career in Germany with Borussia Mönchengladbach, VfL Osnabrück, Hertha BSC and SC Paderborn. Following Paderborn's relegation, he moved to FC Ingolstadt 04 in June 2015. He was the club's record signing, at a transfer fee of €1.7 million. He signed a season-long loan deal with an option to buy at the end with English Championship club Huddersfield Town in June 2016. He made his debut for them on 6 August 2016, scoring the first goal in a 2–1 win over Brentford. On 22 March 2017, Huddersfield paid Ingolstadt £1.1 million to turn Kachunga's loan deal into a permanent transfer.
In December 2017 he was ruled-out for three months due to injury.
He was released by Huddersfield at the end of the 2019–20 season.
On 2 September 2020, he was signed by Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer. He made his debut coming off the bench against Cardiff City on the opening day of the season. He scored his first goal for Wednesday in a 2-0 EFL Cup win against Rochdale on 15 September 2020.
On 20 May 2021, it was announced that he would leave Sheffield Wednesday at the end of the season, following the expiry of his contract.
On 6 August 2021, he signed for Bolton Wanderers. He made his debut a day later as a late substitute against Milton Keynes Dons and provided an assist for Alex Baptiste in the 95th minute, rescuing a point for Bolton in a 3–3 draw. His first Bolton goal came on 7 November in a 2–2 draw against Stockport County in the FA Cup. On 2 April, he started in the 2023 EFL Trophy Final. He scored the third goal, with the Final against Plymouth Argyle eventually ending with a 4–0 Bolton win. On 23 May the club confirmed that Kachunga would be leaving at the end of his contract in June.
On 1 August 2023 he signed for Cambridge United. He was released by the club at the end of the 2025–26 season.
International career Kachunga has represented Germany at all youth age levels from under-17 through to under-21.
He debuted for the senior DR Congo national team in a friendly 2–1 loss to Kenya on 26 March 2017.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsBorussia Mönchengladbach II2009–10Regionalliga West40———402010–11Regionalliga West241———2412011–12Regionalliga West1812———1812Total47130000004713Borussia Mönchengladbach2010–11Bundesliga2000——202011–12Bundesliga0000——002012–13Bundesliga0000——00Total2000000020VfL Osnabrück (loan)2011–123. Liga171000——1710Hertha BSC II (loan)2012–13Regionalliga Nordost43———43Hertha BSC (loan)2012–132. Bundesliga2010——30SC Paderborn (loan)2012–132. Bundesliga13300——133SC Paderborn2013–142. Bundesliga33620——3562014–15Bundesliga32600——326Total65122000006712FC Ingolstadt 042015–16Bundesliga10000——1002016–17Bundesliga0000——00Total100000000100Huddersfield Town (loan)2016–17Championship42122011304813Huddersfield Town2017–18Premier League1910020—2212018–19Premier League2001010—2202019–20Championship3630010—373Total754104000814Sheffield Wednesday2020–21Championship2700021—291Bolton Wanderers2021–22League One3222220504142022–23League One380102193504Total7023241143918Cambridge United2023–24League One3651110103962024–25League One4372010104772025–26League Two170203043263Total961251506311216Career total4707114312323652284
Honours Huddersfield Town EFL Championship play-offs: 2017
Bolton Wanderers EFL Trophy: 2022–23
Cambridge United EFL League Two third-place promotion: 2025–26
References
External links