The Super Eagles were dealt a huge blow in their quest for a fourth Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title as Victor Boniface picked up a groin injury. As a result, the Bayer Leverkusen forward will not participate in the AFCON 2023, which kicks off in less than a week.
On that note, Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro is expected to call up Terem Moffi as Boniface's replacement. The Nice forward made the provisional 40-man squad, but was cut out from the final squad. Is Moffi the right man to replace Boniface? To answer that question, let's take a look at Terem Moffi stats this season.
Terem Moffi stats this season
It's important to note that Nice are currently having their best campaign since the 2016/17 season. They are second on the Ligue 1 table, with 35 points from 17 league matches (W10 D5 L2). Interestingly, Nice have scored 19 times in France's top flight so far, and Moffi was directly involved in eight of those goals. With six goals and two assists, the 24-year-old leads the team in goals, whilst being their joint assist-leader.
Terem Moffi earned his first cap for the Super Eagles in June 2021, as Nigeria lost to Cameroon by a lone goal. He has 12 appearances under his belt for the national team, scoring four goals. But how do these Terem Moffi stats match-up against Victor Boniface's stats this season? Let's see.
Victor Boniface stats this season
At the time of writing, Bayer Leverkusen have a four-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga table. They've scored a whopping 46 goals in 16 games, and have not lost in 29 matches across all competitions.
That said, Boniface has undoubtedly been the team's top performer in Germany's top flight, as he has scored 10 times with seven assists. Like Moffi, Boniface leads the team in goals, and is the joint assist-leader. We would also like to point out that only two players have more direct goal involvements than Boniface in the Bundesliga this season.
In addition to that, Boniface scored twice in the DFB Pokal. He also registered four goals and one assist in five Europa League games. Unlike Moffi however, the Bayer Leverkusen player is yet to score for the Super Eagles.
Is Terem Moffi good enough to replace Victor Boniface?
Looking at their performances this season, Boniface has fared a lot better than Moffi, which isn't surprising considering he made the Super Eagles' AFCON 2023 squad instead of Moffi. However, in the absence of the Bayer Leverkusen player, Terem Moffi is the next-best thing. It'll be interesting to see how the Nice forward performs at the Nations Cup.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago
