The summer transfer window is currently in full swing, and football’s annual ‘silly season’ is well underway. We have already seen a number of high-profile signings with eye-watering amounts of cash being splashed across the globe. English prodigy Jude Bellingham is so far the most expensive acquisition, with his transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid costing the Spanish outfit a whopping €103m.
While Los Blancos have made the most expensive new purchase thus far, the Premier League has already opened its massive chequebook, as it always seems to do. Kai Havertz has left Chelsea to join London rivals Arsenal for a reported €70m, while the Blues have invested that money into RB Leipzig starlet Christopher Nkunku. Liverpool have also finally strengthened their midfield by bringing in Nkunku’s former Leipzig teammate Dominik Szoboszlai for the same fee, as well as Brighton’s Argentinian World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister.
Nigerian Interest This Transfer Window
There have been plenty of Nigerians in the headlines as well in recent weeks. Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is a wanted man after his 26 goals in 32 Serie A games last season led the Ciucciarelli to their first Scudetto in 33 years. A whole host of top clubs are interested in snapping up the 24-year-old, with Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United all registering their interest in recent weeks.
Lower down the English top flight, newly promoted Luton Town made Nigerian-born Republic of Ireland international ChiedozieOgbene their first signing of the transfer window. The pacey winger was brought in on a free transfer from Championship side Rotherham United, and it will be interesting to see if he can make the step up to the big time.
In light of both Osimhen and Ogbene making the back pages, we decided to take a look into other transfers involving Nigerians over the years. Here are the most expensive Nigerian transfers of all time.
Kelechi Iheanacho: Manchester City > Leicester City – €27m
In the latter stages of the 2015/16 season, a teenage striker named Kelechi Iheanacho burst onto the scene for a Manchester City side struggling in its first campaign under Pep Guardiola. While City were struggling, Leicester City were busy beating the bookies as they became the champions of England, with bookmakers giving them odds of 5000/1 before the campaign got underway. The feat remains perhaps the most spectacular sporting achievement of all time, with only iconic NFL bets in history such as the underdog New York Giants beating the perfect New England Patriots back in 2007 rivaling their accomplishment.
Iheanacho netted five goals in the final four games that season as the Blues stumbled into the top four and it seemed that the future was bright for the striker. The following season however, he wasn’t able to kick on, and he was ushered out of the Etihad Stadium to Leicester City for €27m in the summer of 2017.
As you can expect, much was expected of young Iheanacho at the King Power Stadium, especially considering the fact that the Foxes had just reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League the previous season. Unfortunately for both the player and the club, however, their newest striker couldn’t keep up with the goalscoring exploits of Jamie Vardy.
While the former Sheffield Wednesday youngster was busy netting 20 goals for the Midlands outfit, Iheanacho could muster up just three league goals for a new club. The following season wasn’t any better, and he could only manage just one solitary Premier League goal. In his six seasons at the King Power, he has only netted more than ten league goals once and to compound his misery, his team also suffered relegation to the Championship last season.
Alex Iwobi: Arsenal > Everton – €30m
Everton fans were quietly optimistic that Alex Iwobi would be able to add some much-needed dynamism to a midfield lacking in quality at Goodison Park but unfortunately, that has not been the case. He joined the Toffees in the summer of 2019 after scoring a stunning goal in the Europa League final months earlier, however, in his last two campaigns with the club, they have avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth.
The 63-time Nigeria international may still well have a future ahead of him. He is still just 27 years of age and he is just starting to come into his prime and as such, he may well be handed one last chance to prove himself on Merseyside under Sean Dyche next term.
Victor Osimhen: Lille > Napoli – €75m
As we have mentioned, Victor Osimhen is in the headlines once again this summer, just as he was back in the summer of 2020. That year, Napoli forked out a whopping €75m to acquire the Nigerian striker from Lille after he netted 13 goals in 27 games for the French side. A number of eyebrows were raised after he was made the most expensive signing in the history of African football however, it’s safe to say he has repaid his transfer fee and then some.
Osimhen is a hero in Napoli after delivering them the Scudetto last season. In addition to the 26 league goals he scored last term, he has scored 59 goals in total during his three years and 101 appearances spent at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona. Whether he moves on this summer remains to be seen however, if he does, it’s highly likely that he will break his own transfer record.
