Most expensive 5 Nigerian player transfers in Europe

It goes without saying that football is a popularly adored sport in Nigeria, with our nation producing many great footballers who have graced different leagues worldwide.

Europe is home to the highest tiers of football leagues. The English Premier League, for example, is one of the most universally followed leagues, with bookmakers like Betking (via the https://www.telecomasia.net/ng/sports-betting/reviews/betking/old-mobile-app/) producing outstanding odds for Nigerian punters on Premier League fixtures.

The same applies to other prominent European leagues like La Liga, Bundes Liga, and Serie A. It is therefore understandable why some of Nigeria’s finest football exports end up in Europe.

With the transfer frequency also comes a surge in transfer fees for these Nigerian players, with a Nigerian player currently holding the record for the most expensive African player.

Out of the many transfers that have occurred, this article lists five of the most expensive Nigerian players to have transferred to any club in Europe.

In July 2020, Aurelio De Laurentiis announced the acquisition of Victor Osimhen from Lille for a club record fee of €70 million with add-ons exceeding €80 million.

The previous season, Osimhen joined Lille from Charleroi for €12 million and immediately began firing on all cylinders, scoring 13 league goals and 18 goals in all competition.

His impressive goal record and displays for Lille, coupled with the insistence of the then coach, Gennaro Gattuso, and sporting director, Cristiano Giuntoli, was enough to convince the president to make the big-money investment.

Osimhen’s move to Napoli makes him the most expensive African player transfer in addition to being the most expensive Nigerian transfer.

Thankfully, Osimhen has established himself as Napoli’s main talisman, scoring a double-figure goal tally across all competitions in each season with the club so far.

In 2019, Alex Iwobi joined Everton from Arsenal in a transaction rising to €35 million, including add-ons.

The midfielder had been a long-time target for the then Everton coach, Marco Silva, who pushed for him till the last-minute bid was submitted.

Iwobi started from the Arsenal academy and found his way into the first team, making his debut in 2015. There, he was able to score 15 goals in 148 appearances.

He is a creative attacking midfielder with a propensity for opening up play and creating goal-scoring chances. Iwobi still plies his trade with Everton, improving his craft each season.

Iheanacho made his professional career debut with Manchester City after getting promoted to the first team following impressive performances with the Manchester City youth team.

He immediately went on to show his class as a striker for the team, scoring 12 goals in 46 league appearances. However, due to the caliber of strikers he had to contend with for a place, Iheanacho fell down the pecking order prompting him to look for game time with another club.

Then came Leicester City in 2017, and the transfer was sealed in a reported €25 million transaction with over €2 million in add-ons.

Since he arrived at Leicester City, Iheanacho has been impressive, even going on a goal run of 12 goals in 10 games across all competitions in the 2020–2021 season.

Calvin Bassey joined Rangers from Leicester City for a paltry fee of less than €500,000. However, he quickly developed, establishing himself as a regular defender with 65 appearances in all competitions and helping the team win the Scottish premiership, Scottish cup, and a place in the UEFA Europa League finals.

Thanks to his quality and in a bid to bolster their defense, Ajax decided to snap him up for a reported fee of €23 million, which could rise as high as €26 million. He has since made his debut for his new club and is fast adapting to life in the Netherlands.

Ademola Lookman rose quickly through the ranks while with Everton, scoring on his debut in a 4-nil win against Manchester City.

His impressive displays with Everton prompted RB Leipzig to take him on loan during the 2018–2019 season, where he scored five goals in 11 appearances.

Since this loan spell was a success, RB Leipzig decided to make the deal a permanent one, paying as much as €22.5 million with add-ons, even reportedly making the final amount higher.

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