Top 5 Nigerian Scorers in Europe Of 2023/24 Season, Rangers' Cyriel Dessers Finishes Top

Top 5 Nigerian Scorers in Europe Of 2023/24 Season, Rangers' Cyriel Dessers Finishes Top

Edwin Kiplagat
updated at June 3, 2024 at 6:31 AM
In this article:
Victor Osimhen logo
V. Osimhen
Napoli logoFNigeria logo
Victor Okoh Boniface logo
V. O. Boniface
Bayer Leverkusen logoFNigeria logo
Cyriel Dessers logo
C. Dessers
Glasgow Rangers logoFBelgium logo
Terem Moffi logo
T.Moffi
Nice logoFNigeria logo
Nathan Tella logo
N. Tella
Bayer Leverkusen logoFEngland logo
Paul Onuachu logo
P. Onuachu
Trabzonspor logoFNigeria logo
Nigeria logo
Nigeria
Nigeria
21
CAF Africa Cup of Nations logo
CAF AFCON
Africa
Bayer Leverkusen logo
Bayer Leverkusen
Germany
34
Napoli logo
Napoli
Italy
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Ademola Lookman logo
A. Lookman
Atalanta logoFNigeria logo
UEFA Europa League logo
UEFA Europa League
Europe
Atalanta logo
Atalanta
Italy
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  • Nigerian footballers did their country proud in Europe's biggest leagues thanks to excellent performances with their clubs
  • Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella had a historic season in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen, winning a maiden Bundesliga title
  • African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen, had an underwhelming campaign with Napoli, who finished 10th in Serie A

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The 2023/24 club football season is done and dusted, and what a season it was for Nigerian players.

Ademola Lookman and Victor Boniface both finished the season with silverware in Europe and domestically.

Lookman's Atalanta lost 3-2 to Fiorentina on Sunday to bring the curtains down on a memorable football campaign.

Victor Boniface, Cyriel Dessers, Victor Osimhen, Nigeria, AFCON, Ademola Lookman, napoli, Bayer Leverkusen, Serie A, Nathan Tella, Terem Moffi
Bayer Leverkusen's Victor Boniface concedes the title of Nigeria's top scorer in Europe to Rangers' Cyriel Dessers. Photos by Jörg Schüler and Ian MacNicol.
Source: Getty Images

African footballers showcased their talents in the biggest leagues throughout the season. Stuttgart and Guinea's Serhou Guirassy ended the season as the top scorer.

However, Nigerians grabbed the headlines with historic performances and silverware. Here are Nigerian top scorers in Europe in 2023/24.

Top 5 Nigeria top scorers

5. Nathan Tella - 7 goals

Tella played a vital role in Bayer Leverkusen's historic 2023/24 season. The winger scored seven goals, most of them when he came off the bench. It is a decent return in his first season for the Bundesliga champions.

4. Terem Moffi - 11 goals

Moffi had a great season in France with Nice. He scored 11 goals in 32 matches in all competitions. In the 2023/24 campaign, he became the third Nigerian to score at least 50 goals in the French Ligue 1. Nice finished fifth in the table.

3. Ademola Lookman, Paul Onuachu, Victor Osimhen - 17 goals

Lookman started the year impressively at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations for Nigeria. He scored three times in the knockout stages to help the Super Eagles reach the final, where they lost to Ivory Coast. His form continued when he returned to his club in Italy. He scored in the final game of the season to take his tally to 17 goals and 10 assists in 45 matches.

Osimhen and Napoli had a season to forget. Their Serie A title defence crumbled a few games into the season, and they fell further down the table as the season progressed. They changed coaches three times, finished 10th, and missed out on European football. Osimhen's numbers dipped, too. He scored 17 goals in all competitions compared to 31 last season.

Onuachu scored 15 goals for Trabzonspor in the Turkish Super Lig. His side finished third in the table behind giants Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. The towering striker finished with 17 goals in all competitions.

2. Victor Boniface - 21 goals

The 23-year-old centre-forward enjoyed his first season in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen. Boniface bagged 21 goals and added 10 assists in 34 matches, an excellent return despite missing nearly four months with an injury. He was the club's top scorer in the Bundesliga, which they won without tasting defeat.

Boniface was brilliant early in the season, scoring 10 goals in the first 16 Bundesliga matches. Injury struck, and he was sidelined for months, but he returned on time to help Xabi Alonso's side win the league and cup double.

1. Cyriel Dessers - 22 goals

Dessers was on fire in Scotland with Rangers. Despite missing out on the league title, the striker had a productive campaign, scoring 22 goals and providing nine assists in 54 matches in all competitions. His club was beaten to the league title by bitter rivals, Celtic.

All stats courtesy of Transfermarkt.

African top scorers

Sports Brief also previously reported on African top scorers in the 2023/24 season for both club and country.

Guinea's Guirassy finished top, ahead of Egypt's Mohamed Salah and Gabon's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Authors
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.