The hopes of Crotone, Lorient, and West Brom playing in the topflight come next campaign has certainly evaporated due to their unpleasant run this season that got them swimming in relegation waters.
FC Lorient, West Bromwich Albion, and Crotone are sitting comfortably in 17, 19, and 20 in the bottom table of their respective top-flight leagues.
Though, Ligue 1 side Lorient still has the chance of escaping the relegation water should they win all their matches and the likes of Bordeaux and Strasbourg lose ground. While Crotone and West Bromwich Albion already secured a ticket to the lower division come next campaign.
With what three Nigerian international have done in terms of performances in the course of the season it would be somewhat below the belt if the trio goes down.
Today, We Will Be Talking About 3 Nigerian Who Are Too Good To Go Down
- Simy Nwankwo – (Crotone)
The 28-year-old has been a thorn in the flesh of both big and small teams in Seria A this season with his impressive performances for the “Pythagoreans”, scoring 19 goals and two assists in 33 league matches for his side.
Just last weekend the lanky forward set a new record for himself, 19 goals which took his total goals to 29 and made him one of the Nigerian strikers to score a double-digit in Europe’s top-flight.
A feat that overtakes the records of former Nigeria international Yakubu Aiyegbeni which was set in the 2011-12 season with 17 goals and Obafemi Martins 28 goals in Seria A for the “Nerazzurri” between 2002-2006.
The last time Simy donned the Super Eagles jersey was at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, since then the former Portimonense forward has continued to show his impressive form in front of goal. Recently the national team gaffer opined that Simy must leave the Pythagoreans to a more decent and competitive team to boost his chances of returning to the Super Eagle’s fold.
Should Simy go down to Seria B with Crotone at the end of the campaign, it’s certainly going to be a big blow to his career.
No disrespect to his side, if truly he wants to continue his trajectory then he should be thinking of changing club next season, to further put himself on the front burner.
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- Terem Moffi – (Lorient)
Another amazing Nigeria star who is too good to go down is Lorient forward Moffi, his brilliant hat-trick against Bordeaux further buttress the fact that he’s an amazing player that shouldn’t play in the Ligue 2 come next season, having scored 14 goals in 28 games for Lorient in his first year in one of Europe’s top five leagues.
Moffi’s impressive form in Ligue 1 has not in any way gone under the radar this season despite him not playing for one of the biggest sides in France.
For a player who had never played in any of Europe’s top-flight leagues until this year, achieving such a great feat with “Les Merlus” in terms of his goalscoring prowess is something that is commendable, plus the fact that he missed his side’s first six games of the season.
His calmness and precision in front of goal have been evident in all of the games he featured in for Christophe Pelissier’s led side, he was also involved in 36 percent of Lorient’s goal so far this season.
As the Ligue 1 campaign is gradually coasting home with four games to play, the only thing that would be on the manager’s mind is survival and with 40 points they should be able to stay in the topflight if teams above them lose ground and they win their games.
However, should Les Merlus fail in escaping the relegation, then Moffi should be thinking of moving to another club. Apparently, if rumors in the media were anything to go by concerning his link to one of Germany’s topside Borussia Dortmund, then Moffi shouldn’t think twice before moving to the Bundesliga to continue his brilliant trajectory.
- Semilore Ajayi – (West Bromwich Albion)
Semilore Ajayi has really been awesome for the Baggies this season in the Premier League, even though life in the topflight is certainly done and dusted for them with the Championship staring them in the face.
The former Rotherham star hasn’t only been an important player for the Baggies, he has also doubled up with his impressive performances for the team with great defensive display for the Baggies.
The recent brilliant performance that comes to mind was the top-notch defensive display he put up against Chelsea, where the Baggies secured a resounding 5-2 win against Thomas Tuchel’s led side.
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Should Sam Allardyce’s side found their way down to the Championship, then all of Ajayi’s impressive performances this season for the Baggies would certainly be a waste. As such it would be quite unfair for a player of his expertise who apparently had a brilliant Premier League campaign go down.
With Ajayi’s amazing performances this season, there should be one or two decent clubs perhaps in the Premier League, Ligue 1, Seria A, or LaLiga who would be fascinated by his defensive ability.
The former Crew Alexander star stands tall above his colleagues this season not for anything but for his outstanding performances, as such the Nigeria international is one out of the three Nigerian players who are too good to go down.
Conclusion:
If you have any other players in mind feel free to add them in the comment section.
