Philip Porwei Otele (born 15 April 1999) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a winger for German club Hamburger SV, on loan from Swiss Super League club Basel, and the Nigeria national team.
The Nigerian trained with Arsenal as a 14-year-old. Between 2017 and 2019, Otele represented Wearside Premier Division club Wolviston whilst studying at Teesside University. Following his move to Lithuania, Otele revealed he had been unable to accept an offer from Sunderland due to visa restrictions. In May 2019, he signed a contract with Lithuanian club Kauno à ½algiris. Otele established himself as a regular starter in the 2021 season, scoring ten goals and helping Kauno to a consecutive third place in the national league.
On 13 January 2022, Otele moved to Romanian side UTA Arad. He made his competitive on 5 February, coming on as a substitute for Karolis Laukà ¾emis in a 1âÂÂ0 home Liga I win over Sepsi OSK. One month later, he scored his first goal in a 2âÂÂ1 home victory over Mioveni.
In January 2023, with his UTA Arad deal set to run out in the summer, Otele signed a pre-contract agreement with defending champions CFR Cluj. He was officially unveiled by the club on 16 June, and made his debut one month later, in a 2âÂÂ0 home Liga win over Politehnica IaÃÂi.
On 21 August 2023, Otele scored his first CFR goal in a 4âÂÂ3 away league victory over city rivals Universitatea Cluj. Five days later, he netted a double in a 3âÂÂ1 home defeat of BotoÃÂani. On 21 December, he scored another double in 4âÂÂ0 home derby thrashing of Universitatea Cluj. On 23 February 2024, Otele took his league tally to 11 goals after scoring twice in a 4âÂÂ0 home defeat of Dinamo BucureÃÂti.
In April 2024, amid interest from fellow league team FCSB, CFR Cluj owner Ioan Varga stated that he was negotiating Otele's transfer to Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion for ã6 million and a 20% sell-on clause. On 5 May, he scored his fourth double in a 3âÂÂ2 home defeat of Rapid BucureÃÂti, and six days later netted an overhead kick in a 1âÂÂ0 away win over eventual champions FCSB.
Otele finished the 2023âÂÂ24 season as the Liga I top scorer with 18 goals, shared with FCSB's Florinel Coman, while CFR Cluj came second in the league table.
On 8 July 2024, Otele was transferred to UAE Pro League club Al Wahda for a â¬3.5 million fee.
On 15 January 2025, Otele joined Swiss Super League team Basel on loan with an option to buy.
On 2 February 2026, Otele moved on loan to Hamburger SV in German Bundesliga.
Naturally right-footed, Otele is typically deployed as a left winger, but can also play on the right flank or in the centre as a striker.
Basel
Individual