Napoli attacker Victor Osimhen and Leicester midfielder Wilfred Ndidi lead the list of the ten most valued Nigerian players.
According to Transfer Market, the ten most valued Nigerian players in 2022 include several players who made headlines in the previous year.
As the new year begins, soccernet.ng recognizes some of Nigeria’s ten most valuable players.
1. Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
Following his recent performance, the 24-year-old is valued at over €70.00m, which has piqued the interest of numerous football teams keen to sign the Nigerian attacker.
The Super Eagles superstar has been widely linked with a transfer to Manchester United as a successor for Cristiano Ronaldo, but Napoli has slapped an 88 million pound price tag on the striker if he leaves Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
2. Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City)
The Nigerian midfielder has not been at his best lately for Leicester City owing to injuries, but his overall performance has earned him the rank of second most valuable Nigerian in the market, valued €40.00 million.
The 26-year-old may not be excellent with goals owing to his role on the pitch, but his contribution for the East Midlands club has been outstanding.
3. Alex Iwobi (Everton)
The Super Eagles winger, who was recently reported to have modelled his father’s skill, ranked third on the list with a market value of €25.00 million.
In four seasons with the Blues, the former Arsenal player has only scored five goals and provided nine assists.
The 26-year-old has lately made headlines with his rapid form since Frank Lampard took over as manager of The Toffees, making him third on the list.
4. Taiwo Awoniyi (Nottingham)
The man of the moment moved to the City Ground from the Bundesliga for a club-record fee of about £17.5 million. Before joining Nottingham Forest, the Nigerian striker scored 20 goals for Union Berlin.
This may have pushed him to fourth place on the list, since he has a market value of €20.00 million, which he shares with two other Nigerians.
5. Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal)
The Nigerian attacker has been on the radar of many Premier League teams, and a transfer would not be surprising.
The Nigerian star is worth the same €20.00 million, but The Yellow Submarine will raise the bar when teams come calling to sign him.
6. Ademola Lookman (Atalanta)
The Nigerian winger was transferred to Atalanta from RB Leizig for a cost in the region of €15 million, however the Super Eagles attacker has been at his best for the Italian club, winning the Player of the Month title a couple of times.
This might be a significant justification for his €20 million market value.
7. Umar Sadiq
The Super Eagles forward, who was spectacular for Almeria last season, netting 40 goals in 77 match appearances for the Spanish club, is ranked seventh on the list of Nigeria’s Most Valuable Players. This piqued the eye of teams such as Borrussia Dortmund, Villarreal, Sevilla, and Real Sociedad.
The attacker, who is valued at €18.00 million in the market, made a transfer to Reale Arena but has been sidelined by an injury that has prevented him from playing enough La Liga matches.
8. Calvin Bassey
The Nigerian defender is one defender whose performance for the Rangers before to joining Ajax cannot be forgotten. Last summer, the Super Eagles star moved to the Dutch league for €26.5 million.
Despite the fact that he seemed to be struggling in the Eredivisie league, he never fails to produce.
Following his outstanding performance in the Scottish league, his ranking of eighth is unsurprising.
9. Kelechi Iheanacho
The Nigerian attacker has not been in top form for Brendan Rogers’ team, starting just one game and coming off the bench 11 times. However, the Super Eagles star enjoyed his greatest season with the Foxes in the 2020-21 season, scoring a total of 12 domestic league goals.
As of now, Iheanacho has only scored two goals in 11 starts off the bench.
His market value is now €17.00m, ranking him ninth on the list, and this might remain the case if few clubs come knocking for his signature when he ultimately chooses to leave the King Power Stadium.
10. Paul Onuachu
Paul Onuachu’s market value (€15.00m) may be due to the league in which he plays, but his skills, goal-scoring tactics, and even the number of goals he has scored for Genk are enough to make him worth more.
Paul Onuachu, who has attracted attention from certain English teams, is the leading scorer in the Jupiler Pro League with 13 goals.
This, however, may force these clubs to break the bank in order to acquire his signature.
