Crotone striker Simeon Nwankwo is fast closing in on Yakubu Ayegbeni’s European league mark with his recent effort against Spezia.
The towering striker was on target on Saturday, albeit, the Pythagoreans were subdued 3-2 by the Little Eagle in an Italian elite division outing.
With the scores tied at 1-1 at the Stadio Alberto Picco, Nwankwo put his team ahead with a 78th-minute strike thanks to Niccolo Zanellato’s assist. Even at that, they forfeited all three points as late goals from Giulio Maggiore and Martin Erlic handed Vincenzo Italiano’s side victory.
Thanks to his effort, he now boasts 16 goals in the 2020-21 Serie A campaign. Only one goal separates him from Ayegbeni – who is Nigeria’s top scorer in a single top-five European League campaign in the 2000s.
16 - Only Yakubu with Blackburn Rovers in 2011/12 (17 goals) has scored more goals than #Simy in Serie A this season (16) among Nigerian players in a single top-5 European League campaign in 2000s. Eagle.#SpeziaCrotone pic.twitter.com/e8zQSqpHlF
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 10, 2021
After completing his loan spell at Leicester City, ‘the Yak’ joined the Riversiders for an undisclosed fee. In his maiden season at Ewood Park, he became an instant hit – scoring 17 English top-flight goals in 30 appearances.
His best performance came on December 3, 2011. There, he scored all four goals as Blackburn silenced Swansea City 4-2. That was his first Rovers hat-trick and his first four-goal game since the last day of the 2003-04 season for Portsmouth against Middlesbrough.
Sadly, Ayegbeni’s heroics could not rescue Steve Kean’s men from getting demoted to the English Championship after they finished in 19th place. To date, his 17-goal feat is yet to be surpassed by any Nigerian featuring in any of Europe’s top five leagues.
Should red-hot Nwankwo score at least two goals in his club’s remaining eight matches left, he will surely overtake his compatriot’s mark that has stood for a decade.
Crotone’s 23rd defeat of the ongoing term sees them remain at the base of the log after accruing just 15 points from 30 matches – which makes them a sure candidate for relegation to Serie B.
For their Nigerian import who has now overtaken Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli) and Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan) on the topscorer’s chart, he would be hoping to continue his impressive goalscoring run when Udinese visit Stadio Ezio Scida on April 17.