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One-cap Super Eagles forward Anthony Nwakaeme is the only Nigerian on the list of the top 100 creators, with Mohamed Salah and Riyad Mahrez.
Nigeria’s Anthony Nwakaeme has joined Liverpool star Mohamed Salah and Riyad Mahrez in the list of the top 100 creators in the world.
Nwakaeme is the only Nigerian on the list made public in CIES Football Observatory’s latest issue.
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Nwakaeme at Al Fayha
The 34-year-old has fully settled down at his new club, Al Fayha, in the growing Saudi Arabian Pro League.
Nwakaeme, who has been forgotten by the Nigerian Super Eagles, swapped Turkish club Trabzonspor for Al Fayha following the expiration of his contract last year.
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Before he moved to the Saudi Pro League, the experienced wide forward was a pivotal member of Trabzonspor’s success in recent years.
The Nigerian forward helped the club to lift the Turkish Cup in 2020 before making history when he guided them to the Super Lig title two years before his departure.
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Nwakaeme joins Salah and Mahrez in exclusive list
However, his latest recognition is a reward for his performance at Al Fayha.
Per the CIES, Nwakaeme is among the top 100 most dangerous creators in the world alongside two other African giants.
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In ranking the players, the CIES noted that the creation index is calculated by adding the number of key passes (for chances) and expected assists (depending on the dangerousness of the chances created) per 90', and weighting the result by the sporting level of the matches played.
With this, the Nigerian was ranked 53rd in the world and third in Africa behind Liverpool’s Mo Salah, who is the continent’s most-ranked player at number six in the world. Followed by Mahrez, who is 33rd on the list.
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A further breakdown of the ranking shows that Nwakaeme attempts an average of 1.36 key passes a game, with an expected assist of 0.39 per 90 minutes.
The inclusion of Nwakaeme is also a significant milestone as he is the only Nigerian player to make the list which took account of players from 33 different leagues in the world.
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Nwakaeme has scored two goals and assisted another for Al Fayha this season in the Saudi Pro League.
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