Emeka Nweze
Odion Ighalo just made his Manchester United debut amid all the buzz and excitement, and Nigerians are hoping that he adds to his goal tally from Watford and hopefully lead United into the top four places.
While everyone is eagerly waiting for Ighalo’s goal, where does he rank in Premier League goals among his compatriots? Below is a list of the top ten Nigerian Premier League goal scorers
1. Yakubu Ayegbeni – 95
Yakubu Ayegbeni palyed for four premier league ckibs in total, including Portsmouth, Middlerbrough, Everton and Blackburn. He is regarded as one of the most prolific strikers both for Nigeria and in the premier league. Throughout his premier league career, the Nigerian striker netted a superb 95 goals from 252 matches, hitting double figures in six different seasons.
2. Nwankwo Kanu – 54
Kanu joined Arsenal from Inter in February 1999 for approximately £4.15 million and spent three years with the North London club before leaving for West Brom and later Portsmouth where he played his most premier league football. Across his 11 years spell in the English top flight, Kanu made made a combined 273 appearances, scoring 54 goals.
3. Efan Ekoku – 52
Efan Ekoku may not be popular among the younger generation as he made his last appearance in the league in 1999. In his career, the Nigerian played for Norwich City and Milton Keynes Dons, making a combined appearance of 158 caps with 52 goals.
4. Shola Ameobi – 43
The towering Newcastle legend spent 14 years at the club, both in the premier league and the second division. Shola, whose younger brother also played for the club made 299 appearances for the club, albeit majorly from the bench. He however netted 43 goals throughout his spell in the premier league.
5. Peter Odemwingie – 36
Peter Odemwingie came into the Premier League in 2010 when he signed for West Brom from Lokomotiv Moscow . He Uzbek born immediately established himself as a goalscoring winger, which he carried on throughout his spell with West Brom. He scored 30 Premier League goals for the Baggies which won him three Premier League Player of the Month awards six years spell in England. He spent three years with the Baggies, before spells with both Cardiff City and Stoke, culminating in 127 appearances and 36 goals.
6. Obafemi Martins – 28
Throughtout Obafemi Martins’ career, the striker was known for two things, his speed on the ball and his goals, and he proved deadly everywhere he went. He spent four seasons in the Premier League, three with Newcastle United and one with Birmingham. He made a total of 92 appearances in the division, netting 28 goals.
7. Victor Anichebe – 26
Victor spent most of his premier league career with Everton but also had spells with West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland. He 204 Premier League appearances and scored 26 goals.
8. Victor Moses – 20
Since 2007, Victor Moses has played for Wigan Athletic, Liverpool, West Ham United, Stoke City and Chelsea. For his five different clubs, he has made 220 Premier League appearances, scoring 20 goals as both a winger and as a full-back.
9. Odion Ighalo – 16
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Odion Ighalo played for spent two-and-a-half years in the Premier League playing for Watford. The striker experience both fruitful and barren periods at the club, ultimately scoring 16 goals, including a six match consecutive scoring run. He is however back in the Premier League with Manchester United and only time will tell if he adds to his tally.
10. Kelechi Iheanacho – 19
Iheanacho moved to Manchester City in 2014 as a highly rated player destined for great things, however, things didn’t exactly go as planned as he struggled to get into the team. He moved to Leicester City in 2017 and while he still struggles to establish himself as a first team player he has began to show glimpses of that 2014 potential. So far in his Premier League career, the Nigerian forward has netted 19 goals from 106 appearances at just 23.
