Nigerians have been part of the glorious years of the English Premier League with the likes of Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Mikel Obi, John Utaka, Obafemi Martins, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Osaze Odemwingie, and Victor Moses recording outstanding careers in the arguably biggest league in the world.
However, some Nigerian footballers didn’t quite lucky as those mentioned earlier as their dreams of playing in the EPL turned into nightmares following forgettable stints.
Here are the five of them who failed to fly in England’s premier division
Ahmed Musa (Leicester City)
The current Super Eagles captain has had a glittering career but his sojourn to England remains an immemorable one. Still basking in the euphoria of their shocking winning of the EPL title in 2016, Leicester sought to bolster their squad with the addition of Musa from CSKA Moscow.
It looked like a shrewd business for the newly-crowned EPL champions given the fact that Musa had recorded enviable feats in Russia where he had helped CSKA Moscow to three league titles, one FA Cup, and two Super Cups.
However, the deal turned out one as of the worst in the history of the EPL after Musa recorded a paltry two goals in 21 appearances with no single assist to his name.
After 18 months, the Foxes could not cope again with the lackluster showing of Ahmed Musa and was declared surplus to requirement at the King’s Power Stadium which culminated in his sale in 2018.
Ifeanyi Udeze (West Brom)
He could be regarded as one of the best left back in the history of Nigeria but Udeze’s stint in England with West Brom ended in a fiasco for the defender.
He had shone for clubs including Bendel Insurance FC, AO Kavalas (Greece) and PAOK Thessaloniki before joining West Brom on loan in the winter of 2003.
However, the loan stint didn’t turn out the way he wanted as he saw only 11 appearances as the Baggies stuttered to relegation and the Nigerian lost the chance to make his stay permanent as he returned to his parent club in Greece,
Udeze whose career was cut short by injury is now a radio presenter at Brila FM.
Julius Aghahowa (Wigan Athletic)
It is hard to believe Aghahowa would struggle in the English Premier League given that his all-round power play suited the style in the EPL but he ended his spell in England as arguably the worst from a Nigerian player.
He had established himself in the consciousness of Nigerians with an incredible showing in the 2000 African Cup of Nations co-hosted by Nigeria and Ghana and subsequently became one of the most fearsome strikers in Europe with Shakhtar Donetsk, a club he helped to many Ukrainian Premier League title having joined from Esperance of Tunisia.
It is natural to have many clubs coming on his trail but Wigan Athletics were able to make his dream of playing in the EPL a reality when the Lactics signed him in 2007.
However, the move became calamitous as the striker managed just 20 appearances without scoring a single goal. The striker never looked like he was going to revive his career at the club and after just one year he was asked to leave the club.
Blessing Kaku (Bolton)
A decent holding midfielder who played for many clubs in Belgium and Israel including K.R.C. Genk, Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Maccabi Tel Aviv, F.C. Ashdod, Maccabi Petah Tikva.
However, his stint in England didn’t go as planned as he struggled and fumbled with Bolton when he joined the club in 2004.
The transfer was a subject of intense scrutiny following the involvement of Coach Sam Allydyce’s son in the move that brought Kaku to the Reebok Stadium. There was an allegation of conflict of interest leveled against the coach but Kaku still failed to justify the risk on him as he managed just one appearance for the Wanderers before he was shipped to Derby County where he racked up just four caps.
His unproductive two years in England were affected his career and subsequently ran back to Israel in 2005 to join Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Sam Sodje (Reading)
One of the Sodje brothers in football had an impressive career in the lower divisions but an attempt to showcase his prowess in the English Premier League didn’t turn out fine.
He became popular with the Brentford fans through a combination of his goal-scoring, and his crazy hairstyles and it was a no-brainer that the EPL sides would come for him following an impressive showing in the 2005-06 season and it was Reading that snapped him up as his fans expected to see him continue the fine run in the elite division.
But the move became an incredibly bad one as Sodje managed just three appearances for his new club before he was loaned out to Charlton Athletic less than a year later.
