By John Ogunsemore
Nigerian strikers in some of Europe’s best leagues put up a showing for their respective clubs in the 2024-2025 league season.
Daily Sun takes a cursory look at the performances of seven key Nigerian forwards in the just-concluded season and as the summer transfer window prepares to open.
Victor Osimhen
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen embarked on a season-long loan to Turkish giants Galatasaray last September after falling out with the Italian club bosses.
The poster boy of Nigerian football put up a superlative performance to emerge top scorer in the Turkish Super Lig in the 2024-2025 campaign, scoring 25 goals and providing 5 assists as Galatasaray claimed the league title.
The 26-year-old also scored twice, breaking a string of records as Galatasaray won 3-0 against Trabzonspor in the Turkish Cup final.
Osimhen has been linked with a summer switch to some of Europe’s top clubs, including Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Arsenal.
Tolu Arokodare
Genk striker Tolu Arokodare narrowly missed the Player of the Season award in the Belgian Pro League.
However, the Nigerian hotshot clinched the Top Scorer award and the Ebony Boot as the best African player in the Belgian league, having scored 21 goals and provided six assists in 40 league appearances under coach Thorsten Fink.
Despite Arokodare’s heroics in front of goal, Genk missed out on the league title, which was claimed by Union Saint-Gilloise for the first time in 90 years.
Ademola Lookman
The current African Player of the Year enjoyed a sensational season for Italian Serie A side Atlanta, scoring 20 goals and providing 7 assists across all competitions.
Lookman was named in WhoScored’s Serie A Team of the Season, earning him a place alongside Inter’s Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez in the attacking trio.
Expectedly, his explosive form and dazzling style have attracted interest from some of Europe’s top clubs, including Arsenal, Manchester United, Juventus, Inter Milan, and Paris Saint-Germain.
Victor Boniface
An integral part of Bayern Leverkusen’s Bundesliga title-winning side last season, Boniface struggled to recreate his 2023/2024 form in the just-concluded league season due to injury.
However, the 24-year-old managed 11 goals in 27 Bundesliga appearances.
Boniface has been linked to a summer switch to English Premier League side Newcastle.
In January, he was close to joining Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr, but the club ultimately chose to sign Jhon Duran from Aston Villa instead.
Umar Sadiq
Sadiq joined Valencia on loan from Real Sociedad in January due to limited playing time in San Sebastian.
With Valencia battling relegation at the time, his five goals in sixteen games helped them turn their season around as they finished just two points outside of La Liga’s top ten.
However, the 28-year-old has indicated that his loan spell at Los Che will not be extended.
Taiwo Awoniyi
Awoniyi’s 2024-2025 English Premier League season with Nottingham Forest was marred by injuries and limited game time.
The 27-year-old featured in 26 of Forest’s 38 league matches, coming off the bench 23 times, starting three times and scoring one goal in a 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, which ended a 324-day goal drought.
This brought his Premier League record to 17 goals and four assists in 73 appearances.
A serious abdominal injury sustained against Leicester City on May 11, 2025, required urgent surgery and a brief induced coma, from which he recovered by May 15.
His limited starts, overshadowed by Chris Wood’s 20 goals, and injury concerns restricted his impact in the past season.
Paul Onuachu
Onuachu finished as Southampton’s top scorer this season despite playing just over 1,000 minutes, with four English Premier League goals.
The gangling striker recorded 25 appearances, 14 as a substitute, as he battled a persistent ankle injury this campaign, and his managers admitted he struggled to play week in week out at his top level.
Onuachu’s performance proved inadequate as the Saints were relegated to the second tier of English football.
The 30-year-old has been linked with a potential summer switch to Turkish Super Lig side Trabzonspor.