Alex Iwobi has moved within reach of a record that has stood for years among African players in the Premier League, with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) backing the Fulham midfielder to go beyond former Ivory Coast defender Kolo Touré after drawing level with Mohamed Salah, Footynaija.com reports.
Iwobi’s route to this point has taken him through Arsenal, Everton and Fulham, three clubs that have given him different roles during his time in English football. He came through Arsenal’s academy and made his senior breakthrough under Arsène Wenger before joining Everton in 2019.
Four years later, he moved to Fulham, where he has continued to feature regularly in midfield.
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His appearances have accumulated across those spells rather than at one club. Iwobi has made 100 Premier League appearances for Arsenal, 123 for Everton and 105 for Fulham. That spread reflects a career in which he has remained in the competition through two transfers and changes in responsibility on the pitch.
NFF wants Iwobi to go one better
The 30-year-old reached 328 Premier League appearances when he featured in Fulham’s 1-0 victory over Coventry City on Saturday. The tally puts him level with Egypt forward Salah in joint-second place among African players, with Touré still at the top on 353 appearances.
NFF Acting General Secretary Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme congratulated Iwobi and made clear that the federation wants to see him claim the outright record.
“The NFF celebrates Alex Iwobi for this new achievement and we wish him even greater glory. We will be very happy to see him become the African with the most appearances in the Premier League in the near future,” Ikpeme said.
Iwobi needs 25 more appearances to equal Touré’s total, after which one further game would take him past the former defender. Touré’s 353 outings came across spells with Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool, and included three Premier League title-winning campaigns.
Iwobi also reached 100 caps for Nigeria during the Super Eagles’ friendly against Portugal in Leiria this summer. Against Coventry, he played 73 minutes, recorded 60 touches and completed 51 passes at an accuracy of 86.3 per cent.
The NFF will now hope the midfielder’s continued involvement at Fulham brings the record within reach.
