Nigerian Players in the Premier League

Players from all around the world grow up dreaming of playing in the Premier League.

Clubs will scout the world to find the next great prospect or the right player to fit into their first team and help them fight for trophies or even just survival in the Premier League.

Nigerian Wilfried Ndidi is one of those players who was scouted and brought in to help compete after losing N’Golo Kanté to Chelsea and has helped his side Leicester City win an FA Cup since arriving.

There have been many great Nigerian players who have entertained fans in the Premier League including:

Nwankwo Kanu

The tall, thin striker is most well-known for his performances with Arsenal, but also played for West Brom and Portsmouth in the Premier League.

He is the most decorated Nigerian in the English Premier League having won two league titles with Arsenal, as well as three FA Cups (one with Portsmouth, two with Arsenal), as well as the English Super Cup with Arsenal. Football betting tips mentioned his name on a regular basis.

One of his best-remembered performances was coming on for Arsenal and scoring a 15-minute hattrick to give his team the lead after they were trialing 2-0 to Chelsea.

Austine ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha

Sam Allardyce brought the incredibly talented Okocha to Bolton Wanderers in the club’s glory years in the late 90s. 

Chants around the stadium circulated of “Jay Jay Okocha, so good they named him twice” after the star attacking midfielder arrived after being let go by Paris St. Germain. 

Jon Obi Mikel

Part of the Chelsea side from 2006 through to 2017, Mikel was a defensive midfielder who broke up play and supported the defense making Chelsea so difficult to beat.

He made 89 caps for Nigeria and won two Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two league cups, one Champions League trophy and the Europa League once with the London club.

Yakubu

The powerhouse striker is one of only two African players to score 100 goals in English football, he managed 95 Premier League goals during his career. 

He played for Portsmouth before getting a big money move to Middlesbrough and then Everton. He also played for Leicester, Blackburn, Reading and Coventry in England before retiring in 2017.

Shola Ameobi

The Nigerian striker moved to Newcastle when he was five years old and went on to play for Newcastle United 297 times in the Premier League, the most of any Nigerian. He helped Newcastle reach and play in the Champions League and Europa League and now works for the club as a loans manager. He represented Nigeria 10 times scoring 2 goals.

Efan Ekoku

Part of the “Crazy Gang”, Ekoku was a tall, gangly striker for Wimbledon and Norwich where he managed 159 appearances in the Premier League scoring 53 goals and providing five assists.

Ekoku was a cult hero for many who supported Norwich and Wimbledon and went on to represent Nigeria 20 times scoring six goals.

Victor Moses

Moses came through at Crystal Palace after moving to England for asylum when he was 11. Usually deployed as a winger, he enjoyed a successful period at Chelsea as a wingback where he won the Premier League, Two Europa League trophies as well as the FA Cup.

After representing England at the youth level, Moses settled on Nigeria for his senior national career and has played 38 times scoring 12 goals for his country.

Joseph Yobo

The Nigerian central defender arrived at Everton on loan in 2002 and after his season on loan, the club made the deal permanent. He went on to play 196 times for the club scoring eight goals.

He was an imposing central defender who became the record appearance holder for an overseas player at Everton, which he held till 2012.

Internationally, he represented his country 101 times, scoring seven goals and is currently working as assistant manager for the Nigerian national team.

Celestine Babayaro

The left back is another Nigerian star who achieved great success at Chelsea. He went on to with the Premier League in 2005, Super Cup in 1999, FA Cup in 2000, League Cup in 2005 as well as the UEFA Cup Winners Cup. After his success at Chelsea, he also played for Newcastle United for three seasons.

He played for the national team 27 times but was unable to register a goal.

Odion Ighalo

After guiding Watford to the Premier League from the Championship, Ighalo continued to be an invaluable part of their first season in the Premier League. 

In that first season, he managed 15 goals while also receiving the Player of the Month award in 2015. Sadly, for Ighalo, his performances weren’t of the same standard the following season and he cut his time with Watford short, leaving for Chinese club Changchun Yatai in the January transfer window.

He returned to the Premier League in 2019/20 when brought back to the league on loan by Manchester United. 

Ighalo managed to play 67 times in the Premier League scoring 17 goals and making six assists. For his country, he has earnt 37 caps so far and provided 16 assists. He is currently still playing for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

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