- More Premier League players have come from Nigeria than from any other African country.
- We highlight the ones with the most impact.
More Premier League players have come from Nigeria than from any other African country, and throughout the past thirty years, a number of Super Eagles players have made an impression in English football.
While there have been many Nigerian players who played for Premier League teams, we have tried to highlight the ones with the most impact.
Nwankwo Kanu
Nwankwo Kanu. Photo/ Brila FM
One of the biggest exports from African football in the 1990s, Nwankwo Kanu paved the way for some of the best players on the continent.
In 1993, Kanu joined Ajax after making a lasting impression on Nigeria’s winning squad in the u-17 World Championships that summer. He later scored 27 goals in 74 appearances with the Dutch team. After additional success abroad, he signed with Inter Milan the next year, although he still managed to win the UEFA Champions League with Ajax in 1994–95.
After playing for Nigeria in the 1996 Olympics, Kanu was signed by Inter, but his career at the club was cut short when a cardiac condition was discovered shortly after he moved to San Siro.
Later, the two-time African Footballer of the Year played for West Brom in the Premier League and Portsmouth, with whom he won the FA Cup in 2008.
Yakubu
Throughout his lengthy career in English football, Yakubu—the highest-scoring Nigerian in Premier League history and the fourth-highest-scoring African—was a consistent goal threat.
Yakubu made his Premier League debut with Portsmouth, where he amassed 42 goals in 92 appearances, including a four-goal performance against Middlesbrough. After he assisted the Teesiders to the 2006 UEFA Cup final at the Riverside, the stocky center-forward was signed by Middlesbrough as a result of that performance.
Afterward, Yakubu became Everton’s record acquisition in 2007 when they paid £11.25 million, although, after a strong debut season at Goodison Park, the Nigerian had fitness problems.
Yakubu is one of just five players in the Premier League to score hat-tricks for three separate teams. He has scored 95 goals in 252 games for Blackburn, Everton, and Portsmouth.
Along with Robbie Fowler, he is one of just two players in the Premier League to have scored multiple “perfect” hat-tricks.
John Obi Mikel
Mikel John Obi. photo/The Pride of London
John Obi-Mikel was a highly sought-after midfield player, and Chelsea defeated Manchester United in a contentious transfer fight to get him.
Prior to joining Chelsea, Mikel attracted the interest of Premier League teams at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship. He won several trophies throughout his 11-year tenure with the West Londoners, including two Premier League championships, four FA Cups, and two League Cups, as well as competitions in the Champions League and Europa League.
Mikel played 372 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions and was chosen to the Team of the Tournament as Nigeria won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. Only three players have ever played for the Nigerian national team more than Mikel’s ninety-one appearances.
Jay-Jay Okocha
At a period when Sam Allardyce’s tenacious team had a tendency to draw continental talents to Greater Manchester for an Indian Summer, Jay-Jay Okocha proved to be a magnificent addition to Bolton Wanderers.
During stints at Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahce, and Paris Saint-Germain, Okocha solidified his reputation as one of Africa’s brightest players. On a free transfer, he left Paris for the Trotters.
The casual footballer’s collection of crazy skills and carefree style of play made him an immediate favorite with the Bolton supporters. Okocha’s blend of trickery, flicks, and spectacular scores helped steer Bolton away from relegation jeopardy despite his fitness concerns.
Prior to retiring, he played 142 games for the team and captained Bolton to the 2004 League Cup final. He also had a brief, unsuccessful stint with Hull City.
Wilfred Ndidi
Wilfred Ndidi. Photo/New Frame
A year after N’Golo Kante left Leicester City for Chelsea, Wilfred Ndidi was brought in as a defensive midfielder, and given the difficult task of taking Kante’s place.
Ndidi, however, made an impression as the new enforcer in the Foxes’ engine room. In his first two seasons in the division, he led the Premier League in tackles. Over the course of the next two seasons, he finished second and fourth in tackle totals, solidifying his position as one of the Premier League’s most reliable ball-winners at King Power Stadium.
He was a member of Leicester’s 2020–21 FA Cup winning squad. Later that year, the side defeated Manchester City to win the Community Shield.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login