Dennis Eckert

Dennis-Yerai Eckert Ayensa (born 9 January 1997) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Union SG.

Early career
After stints at Pulheimer SC, 1. FC Köln, and Alemannia Aachen, Eckert joined Borussia Mönchengladbach's youth setup in 2013 and made appearances in the UEFA Youth League. He made his senior debut with the latter's reserve team on 5 September 2015 in a 2–2 Regionalliga home draw against SSVg Velbert.

Celta Vigo
On 4 July 2017, Eckert joined Celta de Vigo and was initially assigned to the B-team in Segunda División B. He made his first-team debut on 18 August of the following year, coming on as a late substitute for Maxi Gómez in a 1–1 La Liga home draw against RCD Espanyol.

Loan to Excelsior
On 31 January 2019, Eckert joined Eredivisie side SBV Excelsior until June. He scored the game-winning goal on 17 February in a 2–1 comeback win against FC Emmen for his first top-flight goal.

FC Ingolstadt
On 2 September 2019, FC Ingolstadt announced the signing of Eckert. He scored a goal and provided an assist in his debut for the club on 15 September 2019. Eckert finished the season with 14 goals in 30 league matches, helping Ingolstadt reach the promotion play-offs. Eckert helped Ingolstadt reach the promotion play-offs again the following season, leading Ingolstadt to the 2. Bundesliga.

Royale Union Saint-Gilloise
On 20 June 2022, Eckert signed for Belgian side Union SG ahead of their 2022–23 season after scoring 25 goals and providing 15 assists in 78 league matches for Ingolstadt. He scored his first goal for Union in a pre-season match against Feyenoord on 16 July 2022. Eckert made his Belgian Pro League debut on 23 July 2022 in their opening match against Sint-Truiden. He made his senior UEFA competition debut on 9 August 2022 in a 2022–23 UEFA Champions League qualification match against Scottish side Rangers. He scored his first league goal in his following match on 31 August 2022 against Royal Antwerp at the Bosuilstadion.

The following season, Eckert scored the first goal of the league season in the opening match against Anderlecht on 28 July 2023. He scored his first senior European competition goal on 24 August 2023 during the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League play-off match against Lugano. Eckert scored the winning goal on 22 February 2024 against German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt to help lead Union to the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16. He scored the winning goal again in the following match on 25 February 2024 during a league game against Standard Liège, keeping his team in first place in the regular season league table. On 9 May 2024, Eckert won his first senior title when Union won the Belgian Cup.

Eckert began the following 2024–25 season with a win against Club Brugge in the 2024 Belgian Super Cup on 20 July 2024, helping Union win their first Belgian Super Cup title.

Youth
Eckert has played for the Germany U19 national team.

Personal life
Eckert was born and raised in Bonn to a Galician mother and a German father of Iranian descent, along with his brother Joel who played college soccer for Cape Breton University. Iranian actress Anahita Dargahi is his aunt. Eckert holds dual German and Spanish citizenship, and is fluent in German, English, and Spanish, while knowing minimal Persian.

Sponsorship
Eckert is outfitted by American sportswear supplier Nike.

Honours
Union SG
 * Belgian Cup: 2023–24
 * Belgian Super Cup: 2024