As the Premier League season kicks off, Nigeria international Alex Iwobi stands on the cusp of history.
The Fulham man, who finished second in the vote for the club’s Player of the Season in 2024/25, has not only been a quality servant for the club, but has been a mainstay in Premier League football since making his debut in 2015. After breaking through at Arsenal, he went on to represent Everton, before returning to London with the Cottagers.
Over the course of that decade, Iwobi has amassed 291 appearances in the English top flight, an impressive enough tally to put him in second place for Nigerians in the Premier League. For context, that is comfortably more than the likes of Kanu and John Mikel Obi, both of whom enjoyed long, acclaimed careers.
How soon can Alex Iwobi eclipse Shola Ameobi’s Premier League mark?
The current record is held by Shola Ameobi, who was a Newcastle icon in the 2000s. The striker made 298 appearances in the Premier League, seven more than Iwobi has managed to this point.
The 29-year-old, barring a serious injury, will eclipse the record in 2025/26, and very soon too. A look at Fulham’s match schedule for the season can actually pinpoint exactly when Iwobi will equal Ameobi’s mark, as well as when he is likely to pass it.
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A debut for our away kit tomorrow afternoon. pic.twitter.com/eUGASi2pP8
Provided he starts every match for Fulham and is not injured, Iwobi will equal Ameobi’s Nigerian Premier League appearance record on October 4 against Bournemouth. In a coincidence of cosmic proportions, if he is selected to start, he will reach 299 appearances, thereby owning the record outright, two weeks later against boyhood club Arsenal, who visit Craven Cottage on October 18.
A trip to St James’ Park to face Ameobi’s club Newcastle would then take him to 300, a landmark number.
