Just past the half-hour at Craven Cottage on Saturday, 17 October, Sander Berge slipped the ball to Alex Iwobi. The Super Eagles midfielder curled it into the bottom corner. That goal beat Hull City 1-0, gave Fulham their first Premier League win of the season after four defeats and two draws, and, as beIN Sports noted, took Iwobi to 36 league goals, level with Peter Odemwingie.
Calvin Bassey was in the Fulham defence. Semi Ajayi played the full 90 for Hull. Here is every Nigerian in the Premier League this season, with the numbers.
| At a glance | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Stats correct to | Sunday 18 October 2026 (seven matchdays) |
| Capped Super Eagles in the league | 6 |
| Uncapped Nigeria call-up | Zadok Yohanna (Brighton) |
| League goals by capped Eagles | 2 (Iwobi, Ajayi) |
| Clubs with a capped Eagle | Fulham, Hull City, Nottingham Forest, Coventry City |
| Only red card | Taiwo Awoniyi v Brighton, 13 September |
The full list, club by club
Figures are Premier League only, from FotMob and Opta Analyst. Coventry and Tottenham had played six games by Sunday night; the rest had played seven.
| Player | Club | Apps | Goals | Eagles status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Iwobi | Fulham | 7 (588 mins) | 1 | Capped, September squad |
| Calvin Bassey | Fulham | 7 (630 mins) | 0 | Capped, September squad |
| Semi Ajayi | Hull City | 7 (604 mins) | 1 | Capped, played v Madagascar |
| Ola Aina | Nottingham Forest | 5 (392 mins) | 0 | Capped, September squad |
| Frank Onyeka | Coventry City | 5 (328 mins) | 0 | Capped, September squad |
| Taiwo Awoniyi | Coventry City | 4 (234 mins) | 0 | Capped, played v Madagascar |
| Zadok Yohanna | Brighton | 1 (12 mins) | 0 | Uncapped, called up in May |
Fulham
Before Saturday, Iwobi had created 13 chances, more than any Fulham teammate, without a goal or an assist to his name, according to Afrik-Foot. Now he has one. Bassey has started every league game under Alvaro Arbeloa, mostly at left-back.
Hull City
Ajayi has been the surprise of the promoted sides. On the opening weekend he scored Hull's first Premier League goal in nine years, in a 2-0 win over Manchester United. He has started all seven league matches.
“It was a blessing to score the first goal back in the Premier League,” the centre-back told Footy-Africa, in comments carried by Soccernet. He was quick to add that the three points mattered more.
Nottingham Forest and Coventry City
Aina has started all five of his league appearances. He was an unused substitute in Sunday's 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal.
The Coventry pair have found it harder. Onyeka's move from Brentford became permanent in April, for a reported seven million pounds, once Frank Lampard's side had won the Championship. Awoniyi followed from Forest in August. Then, after 53 minutes of a 5-0 home defeat to Brighton on 13 September, the striker caught Maxim De Cuyper with an elbow and was sent off for violent conduct, which brought a three-match ban that ran through the 4-1 win over Newcastle on 12 October.
Brighton
Yohanna, 19, joined from AIK in June. He made his debut as a 78th-minute substitute in the 4-0 win over Aston Villa on 23 August. It is still his only league outing.
Nigerian heritage, not yet Eagles
Several more players with Nigerian roots are in Premier League squads. None has played a senior match for Nigeria.
Tosin Adarabioyo, born in London to Yoruba parents, left Chelsea for Tottenham on 1 September and has five league minutes. Tyrique George, whose father is Nigerian and whose mother is Ghanaian, joined Everton permanently in July in a deal worth up to 24 million pounds, and he has one goal in seven appearances. At Ipswich, Chuba Akpom has scored once off the bench. He has said publicly that he switched to Nigeria in 2019. The call never came.
Then there is Rio Ngumoha. Born in England to Nigerian parents, the Liverpool forward has five league appearances this season. Thomas Tuchel gave him an England debut against New Zealand in June, then named him for four Nations League matches in September and October, and FotMob now credits him with three senior caps. Legit.ng reported that Bassey had tried to talk him round.
Ethan Nwaneri? He is on loan at Borussia Dortmund.
What it means for Chelle
Numbers are not Eric Chelle's problem. Six capped Eagles are getting Premier League minutes, and all six were involved in September's AFCON qualifiers.
Results are. Nigeria came from behind to beat Madagascar 2-1 in Uyo, then lost 3-0 in Bissau. Guinea-Bissau now sit three points clear in a group where only the winner goes through, since Tanzania qualify as hosts. A 3-3 friendly draw with Russia followed on 6 October.
Our view is simple. The Premier League group is experienced and reliable, but most of it is the same core that has carried the Eagles for years, and the next wave is slipping away. Ngumoha looks gone. George and Akpom are waiting. Only Yohanna has been called up. That makes Iwobi, the senior man in this list, more important than ever, and his record sits in our tables of Super Eagles players in the Premier League by goals, assists and appearances, alongside the short list of Nigerians who scored a Premier League hat-trick. Our report on his winner against Hull has the full story of Saturday.
This article was most recently revised and updated 31 seconds ago
