Karl Anthony Uchechukwu Mubiru Ikpeazu (born 28 February 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone.
[5][6] He signed for Southern League Division One South & West club Didcot Town on loan in November 2011 and scored twice in three games,[6] including the 3–1 FA Trophy win against Conference Premier team Bromley.
[10] The same month, having yet to make his first-team debut for Watford, Ikpeazu joined League One club Crewe Alexandra on loan until the end of the season.
[16] He was reported to have been viewed as a possible permanent signing by manager Paul Dickov, but returned to Watford in March after failing to impress at the Keepmoat Stadium.
[22] However, he lost his first-team place after being sent off against Burton Albion on 24 October as A-Jay Leitch-Smith entered the team and found a rich vein of form.
[28] He scored his first goal for Cambridge in a 2–1 win over Newport County at Rodney Parade on 24 September, and manager Shaun Derry said he was becoming a "cult figure" at the club.
However, the club can confirm that Ikpeazu has declined the offers put forward, making his desire to play at a higher level clear in each conversation".
[35] Ikpeazu signed a pre-contract agreement with Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian in April 2018, with a two-year contract which took effect from 1 July 2018.
[39] Hearts reached the 2019 Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park, where they lost 2–1 to Celtic, with Ikpeazu replacing Steven MacLean on 78 minutes.
[41] He was expected to be sold or released in the summer transfer window after club chair Ann Budge asked the playing staff to take a temporary 50% pay cut due to the pandemic.
[52] He scored three goals in 22 games, but was not in new manager Chris Wilder's first-team plans after he signed Aaron Connolly and Folarin Balogun on loan during the January transfer window to compliment in-form forwards Josh Coburn and Duncan Watmore.
[55] Steve Morison, manager of the Bluebirds, had needed a quick replacement after Kieffer Moore forced through a late move to AFC Bournemouth.
[58] Despite only starting one game for the Bluebirds, he made a further twelve appearances from the bench and scored a total of three goals and was a popular figure with supporters at the Cardiff City Stadium.
[70] He scored his first goal in his second spell for the club on 6 January, in a 3–3 draw with Charlton Athletic, and was named on the EFL team of the week having made six shots, won five aerial duels and completed four dribbles during the game.
[75] On 30 May 2024, Ikpeazu agreed to a two-year contract with Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone, who were managed by his former boss at Hearts, Craig Levein.
[76] Ikpeazu suffered an accident at home just before the start of pre-season, however, and the resulting "freak injury" left him requiring knee surgery and ruled him out of action until October.
[78] McKinstry's successor, Milutin Sredojević, attempted to call him up in April 2022 but Ikpeazu wanted to stay in Wales and try and fight for his place in the Cardiff City team.