Ion Nicolaescu

Ion Nicolaescu (born 7 September 1998) is a Moldovan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Dutch club Heerenveen and the Moldova national team. He is the all-time leading goal scorer for his country with 15 goals,  and was named Moldovan Footballer of the Year in 2023.

Club career
On 20 May 2016, Nicolaescu made his professional debut for Zimbru Chișinău in the Divizia Națională against Academia Chișinău, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute.

DAC Dunajská Streda
Nicolaescu joined DAC Dunajská Streda of Fortuna Liga in September 2020. After mere two days with the club he contributed with two goals to a 5–3 victory over Jablonec, advancing the Slovak side to the Third Round of UEFA Europa League qualifying.

Beitar Jerusalem
Nicolaescu scored 15 league goals and 3 goals in Israel State Cup at the 2022–23 season, helping Beitar Jerusalem win the Israeli State Cup. His three goals in the State Cup games, one against F.C. Kafr Qasim on 11 December 2022, one against Hapoel Afula, on 1 February 2023, during the 4–0 win and another goal at the finals against Maccabi Netanya.

Heerenveen
On 7 August 2023, Dutch side Heerenveen announced they had signed Nicolaescu to a three-year contract.

International career
Nicolaescu debuted for Moldova on 8 September 2018 against Luxembourg in 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, coming on as a substitute in the 62nd minute. He became Moldova's top goal scorer after scoring his 11th and 12th goals in a 3–2 win over Poland in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying. With 4 goals in the competition, Nicolaescu became the first Moldovan to be the top goal scorer of a qualifying group.

Career statistics

 * Scores and results list Moldova's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nicolaescu goal.