Nigeria ahead Reward Orban has sealed a long-term transfer to Bundesliga outfit TSG Hoffenheim, simply 12 months after transferring from Belgium’s Genk to Olympique Lyon.
Contemplating how properly Orban carried out for Gent — the place he was a scoring sensation within the UEFA Europa Convention League — and, earlier than that, for Norwegian membership Stabaek, his time in France proved one thing of a let-down, yielding simply 5 targets in 21 outings.
It actually didn’t assist that Lyon themselves have been quite unsettled in that point, however Orban would hope that life in Germany brings an upturn in fortunes.
And that hope would, no less than partly, be impressed by the tales of Nigerian strikers who’ve discovered success enjoying within the German top-flight through the years — together with these 5.
5 Nigeria strikers Orban can look to for inspiration
Jonathan Akpoborie
Jonathan Akpoborie was the primary Nigerian striker to essentially make a mark on German soccer, again within the nineties.
He had made a little bit of a reputation for himself within the Bundesliga 2, drawing top-flight curiosity and finally signing for Hansa Rostock within the 1996 winter window.
A powerful stint there would propel Akpoborie onto the radar of larger sides within the league, culminating in extremely fruitful years at Stuttgart and Wolfsburg.
By the point the previous Tremendous Eagles marksman introduced his Bundesliga profession to an finish within the early noughties, Akpoborie had racked up 144 appearances and 60 targets — no Nigerian has performed or scored extra within the division’s historical past.
Victor Agali
Proper behind Akpoborie on each charts is Victor Agali, who was signed by Rostock only a yr after the previous had left their ranks.
He, too, shone for the coastal membership, managing ten aim involvements in 22 league video games, earlier than one other of Germany’s heavyweights, Schalke 04, got here swooping for his signature.
There, within the Ruhr space, Agali, a bodily imposing ahead, carried on together with his spectacular kind, finally bowing out of German soccer in summer time of 2004 with 32 league targets in 143 video games.
Victor Osimhen
It might have been in France, Italy, and now Turkey that Victor Osimhen has earned renown within the European recreation, however Germany was his first cease, arriving at Wolfsburg in 2017, whereas nonetheless a fresh-faced teenager.
The teen solely made 14 Bundesliga appearances and by no means bought off the mark, scoring-wise. Nevertheless, that adaptation interval little doubt did him a world of fine, setting him up properly for the success he has gone on to take pleasure in elsewhere.
Taiwo Awoniyi
Like Osimhen, Taiwo Awoniyi additionally arrived in Europe with a fame constructed at youth stage — one so big, the truth is, that it took him proper from his homeland all the best way to Liverpool.
The Reds despatched him on fairly a couple of mortgage strikes across the continent to develop in expertise, a trajectory that introduced him to the Bundesliga twice. The primary, at Mainz, was undistinguished and blighted by a extreme concussion he suffered.
It was the opposite, at Union Berlin, that proved so productive that Awoniyi returned on a everlasting deal.
That, in flip, offered the springboard from which Awoniyi launched a return to England, the place he at the moment is on the books of Premier League facet Nottingham Forest.
General, Awoniyi bought 21 league targets — 26 in all competitions — throughout his comparatively temporary however actually outstanding spell within the Bundesliga and remains to be fondly remembered by Union followers.
Victor Boniface
Victor Boniface has solely had one full season in Germany so far, however, for followers of Bayer Leverkusen, he has already achieved legendary standing.
That got here by advantage of the 21 targets and 10 assists he contributed to essentially the most profitable time period within the membership’s historical past, 2023/24, as Leverkusen swept the DFB-Pokal, a maiden Bundesliga title, and reached the ultimate of the UEFA Europa League.
And regardless of damage preserving him out of motion since final November, the 24-year-old — who labored his approach to Germany following spells in Norway and Belgium, not in contrast to Orban — has began properly this season, with eight targets and an help in solely 15 matches for Die Werkself.
