![\"Soccer](\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/1KzgKAGirN79YFc_hdqs5mAZnwA=\/750x501\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fsoccernet.ng%2Fapp%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F09%2Fimago1041194385.jpg\")
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Nigeria and Bolton Wanderers great Austin Okocha. Photo by IMAGO <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Former England defender Danny Mills has revealed why Nigerian legend Austin Okocha<\/a> never made the leap to clubs like Arsenal or Manchester United despite his extraordinary talent, Soccernet.ng reports<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Austin Okocha, widely hailed as one of the most technically gifted players in African football history, dazzled at Eintracht Frankfurt and Fenerbah\u00e7e before securing a then-record \u00a314 million move to Paris Saint-Germain<\/a> in 1998.<\/p>\n He would later light up the Premier League with Bolton Wanderers, becoming one of the most entertaining players the division had ever seen.<\/p>\n Yet, at the height of his career, Austin Okocha was strongly linked with a move to English giants Arsenal<\/a> and Manchester United.<\/p>\n Mills, who won 19 caps for England and played for Leeds United and Manchester City, admitted that while Okocha possessed unmatched skill, his unpredictable nature may have discouraged Europe\u2019s biggest clubs from pursuing him.<\/p>\n Jay Jay Okocha made football so good to watch pic.twitter.com\/lSXmbQZRx3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Former Footballers (@FinishedPlayers) September 13, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Get Our Sports News First \u2013 Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cHe had so much quality, but unpredictable in the same way,\u201d Mills told Complete Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was almost impossible, you know, he would feign to go one way and then just drop it through your legs. So, you know, you had to be right at it.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, you couldn\u2019t give him any time, any space because he would see a pass, pick a pass that probably no one else in the football pitch would see at that point.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd of course, that made him incredibly difficult to play against \u2013 to mark. Can you imagine if he\u2019d been in an Arsenal or at Man United of that time, you know, rather than Bolton, he could have been even better, you know, because, you know, better players. How he wasn\u2019t at one of those clubs [Arsenal, Man United, etc], I\u2019m not quite sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n![\"Soccer](\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/n0cFv8drWsD0xfnj4Bjm04EZPK0=\/750x597\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fsoccernet.ng%2Fapp%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F09%2Fimago1867785.jpg\")
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![\"Soccer](\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/aajcdxWY0g80zORl8YNhysUUH4Y=\/750x560\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fsoccernet.ng%2Fapp%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F09%2Fimago1386124.jpg\")