Best Nigerian Footballers In European Leagues

Some of the best football leagues in the world are located in Europe. They are so good that they attract the best footballers from just about every country.

That includes Nigerian footballers, too, who flock to these European leagues to play among the best competition. These players can hang with the best on the pitch, bringing the skills they learned in their home country abroad.

Some of the best websites for betting feature these teams where the Nigerian footballers roam. Here are some of the best Nigerian footballers playing in European leagues.

Victor Osimhen

Osimhen is a 22-year-old striker who plays for Napoli in Italy’s Serie A. He also holds down a prominent position on the Nigerian national football team.

Wearing number 9, Osimhen began his career back in 2017 in Germany, playing for VfL Wolfsburg. He spent 1.5 years there in Germany before moving onto Charleroi in Belgium on loan. Following that, he played for Lille in France before finally making his way to Napoli in 2020.

When he moved to Italy’s top football league, it was for a transfer fee of €70 million, which represented a record transfer fee for that club. In his first season with Napoli, Osimhen scored 10 goals in 24 appearances.

Moses Simon

At 26 years old, Simon has risen through the ranks of some of the best football training clubs in the world. Today, he’s a forward in France’s Ligue 1 for FC Nantes.

He began at the GBS Academy, a renown football academy that produced superstar players such as Ahmed Musa. Simon started his professional football career in 2013 when he signed a pre-contract agreement with AFC Ajax in the Netherlands. However, later that year, the club didn’t sign him, waiving him from their roster.

In 2014, Simon signed on to play for AS Trencin in Slovakia. Two years later, he was signed back in Belgium with K.A.A. Gent. In 2018, he made his way over to the top league in Spain, La Liga, signing a five-year contract with Levante.

The next year, he was loaned to FC Nantes in Ligue 1, and eventually his loan was bought out entirely.

Ola Aina

One of the best Nigerian defenders, Aina at 25 years old is a mainstay on the Nigerian national football team. He also plays in Italy’s Serie A for Torino.

Aina has been among the world’s best footballers for much of his life. He began with Chelsea in the under-11 league, playing in the final of the FA Youth Cup at one point in time.

Right before the 2015-2016 club season, Aina impressed Jose Mourinho, the manager of Chelsea, so the club signed him to their first-team squad. He made his debut in England’s Premier League in 2016.

In 2017, Aina was loaned to Hull City. He spent one season there before being loaned out for the full year to Torino. One year later, the club triggered the permanent transfer by paying the £9 million fee.

He made his way back to the Premier League in the 2020-2021 season, signing with Fulham for a loan for the entire season.

Kelechi Iheanacho

Another mainstay in the English Premier League is 25-year-old Iheanacho, who plays for Leicester City. He has spent much of his professional career in the EPL, in fact, starting with Manchester City.

Iheancho has been one of the leaders of the Nigerian national clubs, winning the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup and the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

He began his career with Manchester City in 2015, being added to the gameday roster for the first time that season. He became a starter in the 2016-2017 season and was a series contributor.

Leicester City signed Iheancho to a five-year contract in 2017, for a reported fee of £25 million. He has spent the rest of his career there, being a significant contributor for the club. He scored 12 goals in 25 matches in the 2020-2021 season in fact.

Samuel Chukwueze

Chukwueze is a 22-year-old Nigerian footballer who plays for Villarreal in Spain. He’s a winger who wears number 11.

He started with Villarreal’s CF youth club back in 2017, in the Diamond Football Academy. In 2018, he scored the first goal of his senior professional career. In that first season he played, he scored twice in 11 matches.

He’s a rising star among Nigerian footballers, having won the 2018 Young Player of the Year Award, given out by the Nigeria Football Federation. Today, he still competes with Villarreal of Spain’s La Liga.