Super Eagles: 3 players Eric Chelle could turn into Nigeria’s next €20m stars

Super Eagles and Galatasaray forward Victor Osimhen’s €75 million valuation still towers over Nigeria’s football market, Afrik-Foot reports.

Atletico Madrid star Ademola Lookman and AC Milan winger Samuel Chukwueze also sit among the established names at the upper end of the value chart.

But beneath that familiar hierarchy, Eric Chelle is opening doors for a younger generation whose valuations could change rapidly with sustained club football and international exposure.

The three names that stand out of the lot are George Ilenikhena, Victory Akpe and Mubarak Suleiman.

Super Eagles youngsters to watch

Ilenikhena already has lift-off

George Ilenikhena is the closest of the three to the €20m threshold, with a current Transfermarkt valuation of €10m and a profile that is gathering momentum at remarkable speed.

This season, the 20-year-old Al-Ittihad forward has supplied the sort of production that can push a young striker into a different market bracket.

Ilenikhena has scored six goals and supplied two assists in nine Al-Ittihad appearances before his first competitive Nigeria appearance against Madagascar on September 25.

He then marked his Super Eagles debut by scoring in first-half stoppage time at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, helping Nigeria recover from Madagascar’s early lead before Moses Usor completed the 2-1 comeback.

His age, left-footed finishing and exposure to senior football give him the clearest route towards doubling his current valuation. Another sustained scoring run for Al-Ittihad, followed by productive AFCON qualification appearances, would give scouts and clubs a much larger body of evidence.

Akpe has already made the jump from prospect to starter

Victory Akpe’s present €4m valuation looks modest beside the €20m target, but his career trajectory is moving quickly.

The 20-year-old centre-back joined Basel in July after spells in Lithuania and Hungary and immediately secured a starting role. He opened the 2026/27 campaign with nine consecutive starts and 810 minutes, producing one goal and one assist.

At 1.95m, Akpe possesses the physical profile of a modern centre-back, while his rapid adaptation to Swiss football has earned him his first Super Eagles invitation from Chelle for the October 6 friendly against Russia in Nizhny Novgorod.

A sustained run at Basel, stronger performances in European competition and senior international appearances would give Akpe the ingredients required for a much larger valuation.

Suleiman is the long-term bet

Mubarak Suleiman is the youngest of the trio at 19, and his new €3.5m valuation leaves the largest distance to the €20m mark.

The Slavia Prague midfielder started four of his club’s opening Czech First League matches, recording a goal and an assist while completing virtually every minute of those starts. Slavia subsequently extended his contract through June 2030, a significant vote of confidence in a teenager who only made his first-team debut in February.

The exciting youngster previously scored five times in the UEFA Youth League before breaking into the senior side.

Chelle has now summoned him for the Russia friendly, giving the Super Eagles’ coaching staff an opportunity to assess a midfielder whose club career is only beginning to accelerate.