Iwobi Targets Kolo Touré’s African Premier League Appearance Record

Alex Iwobi has set his sights on breaking Kolo Touré’s record for the most Premier League appearances by an African player after moving ahead of Mohamed Salah into second place on the all-time list.

The Fulham midfielder reached 329 Premier League appearances after being named in the starting line-up for Saturday’s clash against Aston Villa, moving one clear of Liverpool forward Salah, with whom he had previously shared second place.

Iwobi’s Premier League career has spanned three clubs, making 100 appearances for Arsenal, 123 for Everton and 106 for Fulham.

The Nigerian now needs 25 more appearances to surpass former Ivory Coast international Touré, who holds the record for the most Premier League appearances by an African player.

With 29 league matches remaining in the current campaign, the 29-year-old has an opportunity to close in on the landmark this season, provided he remains fit and continues to feature regularly.

However, Iwobi was quick to look beyond his latest milestone, insisting that his focus remains on adding to his achievements rather than dwelling on past accomplishments.

‘It’s hard for me to cherish the memories. I’d like to keep on looking ahead so it’s a nice little stat to have,’ Iwobi told FFC TV.

‘But I’m trying to break the record. I think Kolo Touré is up there, so I’ll keep my eyes going forward and see if I can break that.’

Beyond his personal ambition, Iwobi is also encouraged by Fulham’s recent improvement after a difficult start to the season.

The Cottagers have picked up momentum with consecutive victories over Hull City and Coventry City before drawing 1-1 with Aston Villa in their latest Premier League outing.

Despite the encouraging results, Iwobi believes Fulham must become more clinical in front of goal to turn their improved performances into more victories.

‘Of course, we created so many chances. Me, I should have scored a goal, but it’s something we are working on in training,’ he said.

‘We are always doing finishing. Hopefully, that luck will come and we will start scoring more goals.’

He added: ‘If you keep on working hard, luck will eventually go your way, and we feel that recently this season we have been performing really well with most of our games.

‘It is only a matter of time luck comes our way, we just have to keep this momentum going.’

Iwobi, who made his Premier League debut against Swansea City on October 31, 2015, has contributed 36 goals and 38 assists in the competition.