With the values of some Super Eagles players such as the likes of Victor Osimhen, Taiwo Awoniyi, Maduka Okoye and Emmanuel Dennis rising in the transfer market, some are on the other side of the coin.
Ahmed Musa, Terem Moffi and William Troost Ekong have seen their values on the decline at the end of the 2021/22 season. Complete Sports‘ FEMI ASHAOLU takes a look at SEVEN Eagles whose valuation in the market has suffered decline.
Terem Igobor Moffi had a disappointing season at Lorient in the 2021/22 Ligue 1 season. Moffi could only hit the net eight times and provided four assists in 37 appearances across all competitions.
The striker had raised the appetite of a lot of his followers after netting 14 goals with three assists in the penultimate season, when he joined the Ligue 1 side from Kortrijk in Belgium.
The 23-year-old striker, who is a regular at the club, failed to score in 30 domestic matches last term, which underscored the struggles Lorient had, as he is the club’s top marksman. The club finished just four points above the relegation zone.
Consequently, his market value has not remained the same. As at December last year, the attacker was worth €10million. According to the valuation carried out by Transfermarkt at the end of May, Moffi’s value has slightly dropped by €1million, leaving him with a market value of €9million.
His highest value was in October 2021, rising as high as €12million, three months into the just concluded campaign. It is worthy of note that Moffi only missed one game for the club in the league in the entire season.
However, the Nigerian is ranked as the most valuable player at the club. In value, Moffi is ranked 120th in the French Ligue 1, 140th globally as a centre-forward, and 14th most valuable Nigerian professional footballer.
William Troost-Ekong
Super Eagles assistant captain William Troosd-Ekong is one of the seven players who suffered decline in value due to dismal or unimpressive campaign in the just concluded season across Europe.
Troost-Ekong helped Watford secure promotion from the Championship to the Premier League before the kick off of last season in England. However, reality began to dawn on the defender that there is a massive difference between the two divisions, weeks into the 2021/22 season.
The 28-year-old started the first half of the season for the club as a regular and featured in 16 of the 17 games he played for Watford in the entire season under Xisco Munoz and Claudio Ranieri.
The Nigerian even captained the club in their 0-2 defeat at Vicarage Road against Wolves. But things quickly fell apart for him after former England manager Roy Hodgson took charge at the club at the turn of the New Year.
The former Udinese of Italy defender was subsequently relegated to the bench. He made only two appearances for the club in 2022 in 102 minutes of football. He finished the season featuring in less than half of the total Premier League fixtures for Watford. He was listed in the matchday squad 28 times this campaign, but only played 17 games.
Under Hodgson, he made only appearance and that was against Wolves in May; the game that potentially sealed the club’s relegation back to the Championship. Troost-Ekong played for 12 minutes in the clash.
His falling fortune in the season has also not left the Nigerian’s market value the way it was at the start of the campaign. His career highest value was €5million last December. But his value has now declined to €4million in the latest valuation of players who featured in the Premier League last season. His current value was the same as at the start of last year, while the club were still in the Sky Bet Championship.
But he is the 9th most valued player at his club despite the poor season they had last term which saw them drop from the elite league in England. Troost-Ekong is rated as the 24th most valuable Nigerian player and 345th in the Premier League.
It is not yet certain if the centre-back will continue with the Hornets next season.
Ola Aina
The summary of Ola Aina’s 2021/22 season is similar to that of Troost-Ekong. Both of them started the season well and lost their shirts in the second half of the campaign.
Aina had an erratic campaign with Torino last season. The Super Eagles right-back was a regular before the Africa Cup of Nations in January but after he returned, he struggled to get game time under coach Ivan Juric. The 25-year-old was benched for eight games after he returned from the AFCON, featuring in only five from a possible 16 Serie A games.
He endured the unpleasant situation and didn’t feature for the club from February 2022 to April when he played for 27 minutes in his club’s home draw against champions AC Milan.
And in the last seven corresponding fixtures, he featured in four matches and benched on three occasions. With the summer transfer window already opened, there are reports that the Turin-based side have resolved to let go the former Chelsea academy player for at least €10million.
According to Calciomercato, an Italian publication, Aina is unsettled at Torino and wants to leave the club this summer and the Maroons want to get the stipulated figure from a sale.
The situation at the club affected the Eagles star’s value, with the lack of matches affecting his ratings, according to transfer market. An updated valuation of players in the Italian topflight done this month, saw the Nigerian lose €500,000 from his previous €4million valuation.
Aina’s highest valuation was €10million which was in 2019, when he was on loan at Torino. With his current sliding value, he is the 16th most valued player at the Italian club, and 28th as a Nigerian player. In Italy, he is rankled 274.
Oluwasemilogo Ajayi
Despite having a commendable season, at least according to his coach at Championship side West Brom, Steve Bruce, Semi Ajayi could not help his stock from falling in the transfer market.
The Super Eagles defender had a decent season with West Bromwich Albion, making 31 appearances in the league, scoring once and providing two assists.
The 28-year-old had a patchy and challenging mid-season. He was benched for nine matches out of a possible 11 games between November 2021 and January 2022 under former coach Valerian Ismael. But the appointment of Bruce after Ismael’s sacking in February proved to be the game changer for the former Arsenal man.
Ajayi went on to play in 16 of the 17 remaining league fixtures, and featured for 90 minutes in 15 of the matches. He impressed the former Newcastle manager, who had been sacked from the club after it was taken over by a Saudi Consortium.
Towards the end of the 2021/22 campaign, the club tied the Nigerian down to a new three-year deal, and the coach described him as the best player at the club since he arrived.
“I’m absolutely delighted Semi has committed his future to us, ” Bruce had said.
“He’s arguably been our best player since I arrived at the club back in February, and I believe he has all the attributes needed to be a Premier League defender.
“This signing is key for us in terms of what we want to do next season and the rebuild which needs to happen. Semi is a crucial player in our team and I’m delighted he’s extended his stay.”
However, it is surprising that Ajayi’s valuation in the transfer market dropped from €5million to €4million last month.
Chidozie Awaziem
Awaziem also suffered a decline among Super Eagles players in the latest valuation of players across the world carried out by Transfer Market this month.
The Boavista of Portugal player spent last season on loan at Turkish club Alanyaspor and made 18 appearances in all competitions, netting once and also grabbing one assist.
As peculiar to Troost-Ekong and Aina, the defender also had a brilliant start to the 2021/22 season. He made 11 starts in 14 appearances and even netted in the first game of the season against Giresunspor.
However, he had pockets of injuries, including the one that denied him any appearance for Nigeria at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon in January.
The 25-year-old had missed two matches through injury before the call up for AFCON, where he ended up nursing a mysterious injury. Upon his return to the club, he was benched for a whole month while he was listed in the matchday squads.
He featured in seven of the remaining fixtures for the season. According to a market valuation by Transfer Market, his value dropped from €4.5million to €4million. It is not yet certain if the Turkish side will opt to sign the former FC Porto right-back on loan.
Ahmed Musa
The Super Eagles skipper did not also survive the dwindling fortunes of some Nigerian players in the transfer market.
Musa, who moved to Europe in 2010 from Kano Pillars, joined Turkish side Fatih Karagümrük S.K. last year while he was not permanently attached to any side after he was released by Saudi side Al Nassr.
The 29-year-old made 34 appearances for the club in all competitions and scored four times; twice in the league in 31 games and two other times in the Turkish Cup, in which he played three times. The former Leicester City winger also registered two other assists.
The Eagles most capped player was regular for the club, despite not playing at the top level within the period he ended his relationship with Al Nassr.
However, goal scoring was his major undoing, even in matches during the 2021/22 season in which he would be used as the point man. Since October 2021, there has been a steady decline in Musa’s value, according to Transfer Market.
As at October 12, he had a value of €5million. However, it depreciated to €4.5million, €4million and he is currently valued at €3.4million.
Frank Onyeka
Frank Onyeka joined Brentford from FC Midtjylland at the beginning of the last campaign, and he went on to make 20 league appearances and 24 in all competitions in his first season in the difficult English football.
Onyeka started the season well, making 17 appearances in the first 19 league games for the Bees in the 2021/22 season.
The 24-year-old started in 12 matches and was used as a substitute in eight games. The combative midfielder was benched on six occasions and missed four clashes due to national duty for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Eagles star had a relatively fair season, helping the club to eight wins, four draws and eight defeats in the games he featured in.
However, he sustained an ankle injury in April, which effectively kept him out for almost eight league matches. But he contributed his quota to the club’s season, with their topflight status for another season already confirmed as at the period he got injured.
As a defensive midfielder shielding the backline, he made 25 tackles and recorded 68 percent tackle success, as well as 14 interceptions. He made 18 clearances and 74 total recoveries. The Nigerian, who loves to bump forward when the opportunities present themselves, has lost a slight of his value as a footballer.
He proved his worth and showed that he was not an accidental buy for the club, as his performances for the club saw his value rose to his career highest of €10million as at December 2021. His lowest was €50,000 back at his former club FC Midtjylland in 2017.
The 24-year-old joined Brentford with the highest value of €6million in June 2021, but four months later, his valuation had increased by €3million to €9million, before it rose to €10million three months later. He is currently valued at €9million and 14th most valuable player at the English side.
Onyeka is the 14th most valuable player in the Super Eagles and 278th in the Premier League.
