Seven Nigerian players with the most goal involvements in Premier League history

Fulham midfielder Alex Iwobi is the only Nigerian player currently active in the Premier League that features in the top seven of Nigerian players with the most goal involvements in the competition’s history.

The former Arsenal player has netted seven goals in the Premier League this season, the highest he has in a single season in the competition but the 28-year-old is not the Nigerian with the most goal involvements in Premier League history.

Courtesy Complete Sports newspaper, Nigeria’s number digital newspaper, here are the seven Nigerian players with the most goal involvements in Premier League history.

1. Yakubu Aiyegbeni – 121 (95 goals, 26 assists)
Aiyegbeni’s record as the Nigerian Premier League’s top scorer is well-established, but the former Blackburn, Everton, Portsmouth and Middlesbrough player also stands among the top three assists providers. The Yak, as Aiyegbeni was fondly called in his active days as a football player has retired from playing but his 95 goals in 252 games will likely stay for at least another decade as only Alex Iwobi, with 29 goals, is the current most active Nigerian in the competition close to the Yak.
Aiyegbeni netted double figure of goals in six of the nine seasons he spent in the Premier League, with four coming in his first four seasons. He however scored his highest number of goals per season (17) in his last season in the competition.

Nwankwo Kanu – 83 (54 goals, 29 assists)
Papilo won the Premier League title twice with Arsenal (2001/02 and 2003/04). He ranks second behind Yak as the Nigerian with the most goal involvements in Premier League history. The former Arsenal, Portsmouth and West Brom player scored 54 goals, hitting only double figures twice viz 1999/2000 with 12 goals in 31 appearances (starts) and 10 goals for Portsmouth in the 2006/07 season.
Papilo’s 29 assists are the second highest provided by a Nigerian in the history of the Premier League.

3.Kelechi Iheanacho – 67 (42 goals, 25 assists)
Iheanacho may still be playing in England albeit on loan in the Sky Bet Championship from LaLiga side, Sevilla, the 28-year-old is still among the top 10 Nigerian players with the most goal involvements in Premier League history. The ‘Senior man’ may not be in the top 10 in terms of goals and assists in the Premier League but is the undisputed Nigerian king of goals in Cup games.
Iheanacho had his most prolific season in the 2020/21 season when he netted 12 times in the Premier League. The same season his goals helped Leicester City to win the FA Cup.

4.Foluwashola Ameobi – 63 (43 goals, 20 assists)
It is not how many number of games you featured in that determines the number of goals scored or the number of assists provided. If that is the case, then Ameobi would have towered above all as he featured in 298 Premier League games.
The Nigerian featured for only two clubs, Newcastle and Crystal Palace but all the 43 goals and 20 assists he provided came during his time with the Magpies.

5. Efan Ekoku – 62 (52 goals, 10 assists)
Former Nigeria international, Ekoku is the third most prolific Nigerian in Premier League history behind Aiyegbeni and Kanu, but the former Norwich star forward provided only 10 assists but still managed to rank fifth in the Nigerian all-time list of players with the most goal involvements in Premier League history.

6.Alex Iwobi – 61 (29 goals, 32 assists)
Fulham midfielder, Iwobi is still active in the Premier League which means he can still mathematically overtake Ekoku, Ameobi and Iheanacho and move up to third in the Nigerian all-time list of players with the most goals and assists combined in Premier League history.
This season, Iwobi has scored seven goals in the Premier League, his most in a Premier League season. He also holds the record as the Nigerian with the most assists in Premier League season.
Iwobi’s seven assists in the 2022/23 season are the joint most provided by a Nigerian player in a Premier League season.
With 11 games still left to play in the Premier League, Iwobi still has the chance to score more goals, perhaps become one of about 10 Nigerians to score at least 10 goals in a Premier League season and also provide more assists. This season he has provided three assists so far this season.

7. Peter Osaze Odemwingie – 49 (36 goals, 13 assists)
The only Nigerian player to be voted Premier League Player of the Month thrice, Osaze was an instant hit when he made his Premier League debut in the 2010/11 season when he scored 15 goals in 32 appearances (30 starts) for West Brom.
He also hit double figure of goals in the 2011/2012 season, also for West Brom, scoring 10 times in 30 games.
Like Iwobi later did, Odemwingie was the first Nigerian to provide as many as seven assists in a Premier League season and this he did in his first season in the competition to have 22 goals involvements in a single season, the most by a Nigerian.