Nigeria’s Aiyegbeni is Africa’s no. 5 top scorer in English Premier League

In the ranking of African goal scorers in the English Premier League, Nigeria’s  Yakubu Aiyegbeni sits fifth.

He is just behind Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor’s 97 for Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham and Crystal Palace.

The Nigerian featured for Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Everton and Blackburn Rovers over a nine-year period, and told BBC Africa that his record stacks up favourably considering his club’s comparatively lower standings.

“I’ll still remain one of the top strikers from Africa, no matter if those guys score more than 100 goals,” he said. “Don’t forget they played for some of the biggest clubs in England.

“For me, it’s an honour to score that many goals. I got injured and didn’t play for one year. If I had, I would’ve scored more than 100. I had chances to do it, but the time was right for me to leave, so I went to China.”

As for current players, Manchester City’s Algeria international Riyad Mahrez (67) – sixth on the list – and Arsenal’s Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (66) – seventh – still have some way to go to trouble the top five.

“To score 15, 17 goals in Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Everton and Blackburn is big as well. If you can get 15 goals in a season as a striker in England, it’s a great season for you.

-BBC Sport Africa