Soccer
Super Eagles invitee Zadok Yohanna sealed a record-breaking move to Brighton & Hove Albion, which has rewritten the history books for Nigerian football, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 18-year-old winger completed a switch from Swedish side AIK worth an initial €28m, with Brighton able to pay a potential €2m in add-ons, making him the costliest player ever sold by a club in the Swedish Allsvenskan. [Previous record was Lucas Bergvall – Djurgårdens IF to Tottenham Hotspur, 2024 for €20m]
Only 11 months after leaving the Ikon Allah Football Academy for Stockholm in a modest €750k deal, the teenager has broken into the list of the most expensive Nigerian players signed at the age of 20 or younger.
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1. George Ilenikhena (19) — AS Monaco to Al-Ittihad, €33m
At the top of the list is the Lagos-born forward, who completed a €33m move from Monaco to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad in February 2026.
Ilenikhena had joined the French Ligue 1 side from Royal Antwerp in 2024 and scored 10 goals in 51 appearances, with Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, VfB Stuttgart, and Lille all interested before he signed for Jeddah-based Al-Ittihad on a contract until 2029.
Welcome to Brighton, Zadok! 🤩👋 pic.twitter.com/iiPOidjk0X
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) June 6, 2026
2. Zadok Yohanna (18) — AIK to Brighton & Hove Albion, €28m
The new entrant and latest Seagull is comfortably the youngest on the list.
Yohanna scored five goals and provided four assists in 18 senior appearances for AIK, a breakthrough that triggered a frantic race involving Chelsea and Newcastle United.
Brighton emerged as winners with a deal worth an initial €28m, plus a potential €2m in add-ons, handing the 18-year-old a contract until 2031.
3. Kelechi Iheanacho (20) — Manchester City to Leicester City, €27.7m
The hero of Nigeria’s 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup triumph was still only 20 when Leicester City paid €27.7m to rescue him from limited opportunities under Pep Guardiola in 2017.
The fee made Iheanacho the most expensive Nigerian player in history at the time, a record for any age group, surpassing the £20 million transfer fee paid for Odion Ighalo by Chinese club Changchun Yatai.
The investment eventually paid off in the 2020-21 season, when his goals fired the Foxes to FA Cup glory and the Community Shield triumph.
4. Victor Osimhen (20) — Charleroi to LOSC Lille, €22.40m
Before the world-record move to Napoli and Galatasaray, Osimhen’s career was brought back to life in Belgium.
After a difficult spell at Wolfsburg, the striker rediscovered his scoring touch at Charleroi, prompting Lille to commit €22.4m to sign the 20-year-old in the summer of 2019.
One prolific Ligue 1 season later, he became the most expensive African player of all time. No Nigerian youngster has justified an early price tag more emphatically.
He’s gone on to win the CAF Player of the Year award, league titles with Napoli and Galatasaray, while reaching the AFCON final with the Super Eagles and finishing 8th in the 2023 Ballon d’Or rankings.
5. Mikel Obi (20) — Lyn Oslo to Chelsea, €20.00m
Arguably the biggest transfer saga regarding any Nigerian football player in history, Mikel saw two Premier League giants, Chelsea and Manchester United, go head-to-head for his signature.
After starring at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship [U-20 World Cup], Mikel was at the centre of a bitter tug-of-war before the Blues won out in 2006, in a €20m deal that compensated both United and Norwegian club Lyn Oslo.
The midfielder repaid the outlay over 11 trophy-laden years at Stamford Bridge, winning two Premier League titles, four FA Cup titles, the UEFA Europa League and the Champions League.
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