Last weekend was quite special for Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho.
Not only did he get to justify the £25 million fee the Foxes paid Man City for his services in 2017, he also got to somewhat enter the community of the most prolific Nigerian forwards to have graced the Premier League.
The 24-year-old striker’s three-goal performance against Sheffield United on Sunday helped increase his all-time tally to 27 goals in the league, just as he simultaneously hit 40 goal involvements altogether (13 assists).
His numbers may not seem all excellent to an impartial observer considering he’s been playing in the topflight since 2015, but it’s important to take note of the fact that only five Nigerian players (out of a considerably big pool of contingents the country has had/has in the league) have gotten more goal involvements than the Imo-born striker.
So we highlight, in this article, the top ten Nigerian players who have been most prolific – in terms of goal and assist stats – in the English topflight.
10. Alex Iwobi: 13 goals & 18 assists
Iwobi had a dream start to his Premier League career, scoring in each of his first two league starts for Arsenal against Everton and Watford respectively in 2016. But from thence, he hasn’t really managed to reach same intensity with he got it started.
He’s more of a creative playmaker so it’s no surprise he’s got more assists than goals.
9. Obafemi Martins: 28 goals & 7 assists
The former Newcastle striker was quite prolific for the Magpies over the course of his three-year spell with them between 2006 and 2009. He went on to sign for Birmingham City in 2010 but he couldn’t add to his all-time goal haul in the league there unfortunately. He made 92 Premier League appearances altogether.
8. Victor Moses: 20 goals & 18 assists
He’s on the the few Nigerians with a Premier League title medal. He won it with Chelsea in the 2016/17 season when then manager Antonio Conte trusted with a rather unfamiliar role at right-wingback. He’s made 220 appearances in the league and has played for not less than five different clubs in the competition, namely: Wigan Athletic, Chelsea, Liverpool, Stoke City and West Ham.
7. Victor Anichebe: 26 goals & 13 assists
Anichebe featured for Everton, West Brom and Sunderland in the league with a total of 204 appearances to his name. His best season was 2012/13 where he contributed six goals and six assists to help the Toffees finish 6th.
6. Kelechi Iheanacho: 27 goals & 13 assists
Iheanacho did well to overtake Anichebe on list of Nigerian top scorers in the league with his hat-trick on Sunday. He’s also now joined Efan Ekoku, Yakubu, Kanu and Peter Odemwingie as the only five Nigerians to have bagged a Premier League hat-trick.
5. Peter Odemwingie: 36 goals & 13 assists
Odemwingie had a remarkable spell with West Brom where he spent three-and-a-half seasons. It was there he bagged the Player Of The Month (POTM) award three times (most by a Nigerian) between 2010 and 2012. He also represented Cardiff and Stoke City, making 129 appearances in the league altogether.
4. Efan Ekoku: 52 goals & 10 assists
The six-cap Super Eagle is one of only three Nigerians with the 50+ goals in the league. For a fact, he was the first Nigerian to play in the Premier League. He made his debut in the competition with Norwich in 1993 – a year after the establishment of the rebranded league. Notably he’s the first player ever to more than three goals in a Premier League match with his four-goal performance against Everton in September 1993 earning him the famous record.
3. Shola Ameobi: 43 goals & 20 assists
The Newcastle legend spent 13 seasons with Magpies before he moved on for a short spell with Crystal Palace in 2014/15. He made 298 appearances in the competition.
2. Kanu Nwankwo: 54 goals & 29 assists
The retired lanky striker is quite famous for the few jaw-breaking clutch moments he had in the league while at Arsenal. He was the first Nigerian to win the league, helping the Gunners to title glory in 2001/02. He was also part of the famous invincible Arsenal side that clinched the title again in 2003/04. He made a total of 273 appearances in the competition.
1. Yakubu Aiyegbeni: 95 goals & 26 assists
Yakubu is outrightly the most prolific Nigerian to ever grace the Premier League. With 95 goals, he’s the third African with most goals in the league behind Didier Drogba (104) and Emmanuel Adebayor (97). He played for four different clubs in the league, namely: Portsmouth, Middlesbrough Everton and Blackburn, and has goals for each of them.
Some will say it’s definitely Kanu because he’s got titles and played a top team, others will say the goal machine Yakubu, some will even say Jay-Jay Okocha, but who, in your opinion, is the greatest Nigerian player to ever grace the Premier League? And is there any of the currently active players in Iheanacho, Iwobi or even Moses, who you thing up to the top of this list before they hang the boot? Let’s know get you opinion on our social media pages.
In the meantime, you can cash in big on your support of Nigerian players in the Premier League by backing them to score (the in-form Iheanacho, for example), or their teams to win by making use of the considerably huge odds NetBet Nigeria offers when you bet on Premier League games.
