11 high-profile players under Jadon Sancho’s Nigerian agent, Emeka Obasi

Jadon Sancho was all over the headlines the moment he was strongly linked with a move from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United. After more than a year of back and fourths, that move became a reality in a deal worth £76.5 million this summer.

One interesting fact is that the agent of the English man is a Nigerian in the name of Emeka Obasi. 

Obasi first came into the limelight when it was reported that Manchester City paid the Nigerian £200,000 following then-14-year-old Sancho’s move from Watford in 2015. Under FA rules, a player can’t have an agent before they turn 16 neither can they receive any financial incentives within that age limit. Man City and Obasi have since denied the allegations.

Now at a value of £81 million, Sancho is out rightly and by a margin, Obasi’s most valuable player, but what about the others under his agency? Here’s a chronological order of the next most valuable players which non-surprisingly, are majorly players of Nigerian descent.

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal - £58.50 million)

The 20-year-old burst into the scene during the 2018-19 season from the Gunners academy and is approaching a century of competitive appearances for the North London side with 13 goals and 22 assists to his name.

Indeed, Saka has become a pivotal player for Arsenal and also the England national team, playing his bit in seeing them reach the Euro 2020 final at Wembley this summer.

Todd Cantwell (Norwich City - £19.80m) 

The Dereham-born midfielder is one of four players valued above £1 million under Obasi not to be of Nigerian descent. He is also the only white player with the same valuation range on the list.

Starting out with the Canaries at youth, Cantwell began his senior career on loan at Fortuna Sittard in the Dutch Eerste Divisie before integrating himself into the Norwich first team where he’s played 107 times in all competitions, scoring 14 goals and providing 12 assists.

Alex Iwobi (Everton - £19.80 million)

Like Saka, Iwobi began his career at Arsenal and featured 149 times between 2015 and 2019, scoring 15 goals and providing 27 assists.

He moved to Everton in the summer of 2019 and is just 25 appearances away from a century of appearances for the men in blue.

Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal - £10.80 million)

Another Arsenal product and one of the players with non-Nigerian descent on the list. The 22-year-old is rather of Ghanaian descent.

After a few first team cameos, Nketiah was sent on loan to Leeds United while still in the Championship and he impressed. Since then, Gunners boss, Mikel Arteta has tried to make the forward part of the squad. Nketiah has played a total of 67 games for Arsenal with 15 goals and a solo assist.

Terem Moffi (Lorient - £10.80 million)

Moffi is the only player on the list that is of 100% Nigerian origin and no secondary nationality, having been born in the city of Calabar and raised in the country.

His European career started at Kauno Zalgiris and FK Riteriai in Lithuania before moving to Belgium with KV Kortrijk and currently Lorient in France, where he’s made a name for himself with 17 goals and counting as he approaches half a century of appearances for the Brittany outfit.

Joe Aribo (Rangers - £5.85 million)

Aribo began his career with Charlton Athletic in 2016 and made 97 appearances, with 16 goals and 15 assists before Rangers snapped him on a free transfer in 2019.

The 25-year-old midfielder has been a mainstay for the Scottish heavyweights with 19 goals and 17 assists in 110 games in all competitions. He has equally been a regular with the Nigeria national team since his first cap against Ukraine on September 10, 2019.

Ola Aina (Torino - £5.40 million)

Aina began his career with Chelsea and had loan spells at Hull City and Torino before making a permanent move to the latter in 2019.

The London-born player had a loan spell at Fulham last season and is back in Italy for the current campaign. Aina made his Super Eagles debut in 2017 and has 17 caps to his name.

Josh Maja (Bordeaux - £4.50m)

Another London-born player but he had no initial senior career in the city, rather youth with Crystal Palace and Fulham before moving up north for more youth football to Manchester City and then Sunderland. 

It was on Wearside his senior career kicked off in 2016, making 49 appearances for the Black Cats and scoring 16 goals. He moved to French club Bordeaux on January 2019 and spent the 2020-21 season on loan at Fulham. Maja has one cap for the Nigeria national team.

Folarin Balogun (Arsenal - £3.60 million)

The 20-year-old striker was born in New York City to Nigerian parents but raised in England.

His career kicked off at Arsenal and having impressed for the Under 18s and Under 23s where he has almost 70 goals in nearly 100 games, he’s been slowly eased into the senior team since 2020 with nine appearances and two goals to his name. He signed a long-term contract with Arsenal back in April.

Chuba Akpom (Middlesbrough - £2.88 million)

The fifth player connected with Arsenal on this list. Born in Canning Town, London, Akpom started out at Arsenal but was unable to nail a regular spot in the first team and only recorded 12 appearances in five years at the Emirates Stadium, with no goals.

He had a host of loan spells at Brentford, Coventry City, Nottingham Forest, Hull City, Brighton and Hove Albion and Sint-Triden before sealing a permanent move to Greek side PAOK Thessaloniki in 2018. After two seasons he was sold to Middlesbrough in the Championship and is now back at PAOK on loan for the current campaign.

Sheyi Ojo (Liverpool - £2.70 million)

Ojo was born in the town of Hemel Hampstead in the county of Hertfordshire. He however started his youth career with MK Dons in London before moving up north to Liverpool where he has been since 2011 as a 14-year-old. 

Ojo has found first-team football hard to come by at Anfield since 2015, with 13 appearances made and one goal scored. He’s rather spent time on loan at Wigan Athletic, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fulham, Reims in France, Rangers, Cardiff City and currently Millwall.

NB: All transfer values are as seen on Transfermarkt.com

     - All stats and figures accurate as at the time of writing.

---

Kunle is an avid writer with interest in topics on sports, politics, health, lifestyle and more. His articles have featured in Goal.com, Opera News, Vanguard News and other platforms. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in International Relations and is an advocate for people living with Hydrocephalus and other neurological conditions.

Follow him on Twitter: @kfayiga

---

Pulse Contributors is an initiative to highlight diverse journalistic voices. Pulse Contributors do not represent the company Pulse and contribute on their own behalf.