6 Nigerians Who Made High-Profile Moves In January Transfer Window

Over the years, several Super Eagles stars have completed high-profile switches during the winter window, going on to leave lasting impressions at their new clubs.

As the 2025/2026 January transfer window draws to a close, Completesports.com’s JAMES AGBEREBI revisits six Nigerian players whose January moves stand out in football history.

Terem Moffi completed a loan move from Ligue 1 side OGC Nice to Portuguese giants and two-time UEFA Champions League winners, FC Porto.

The Super Eagles forward was officially unveiled by Porto on Friday, 30 January 2026.

On 30 November 2025, following a run of six consecutive defeats, Moffi and several Nice players were attacked by supporters as they alighted from the team bus after a 3–1 away defeat to his former club, Lorient.

As a result of the incident, Moffi was placed on sick leave for a week before eventually departing the French club on loan.

After making just 12 league appearances and scoring one goal for Inter Milan, Nwankwo Kanu joined Arsenal in the winter transfer window of 1999 for a reported fee of £4.15 million.

Kanu made his Arsenal debut against Sheffield United in the FA Cup, coming on as a second-half substitute.

One of his most memorable moments at the club came in October 1999, when he scored a stunning hat-trick against Chelsea to inspire a dramatic 3–2 comeback victory from a 2–0 deficit.

During his five seasons with the Gunners, Kanu won two Premier League titles, two FA Cups and one Community Shield.

On 10 January 2005, Taye Taiwo left Nigeria Premier League side Lobi Stars to join French giants Marseille, signing a three-year contract for a reported fee of €200,000.

The Nigerian defender was recruited as a replacement for France 1998 World Cup winner Bixente Lizarazu, who had moved to Bayern Munich.

Taiwo went on to enjoy a successful spell at Marseille, winning one Ligue 1 title, three French League Cups (now defunct), one French Super Cup and one UEFA Intertoto Cup (defunct).

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On 31 January 2020, Odion Ighalo made a sensational return to the Premier League, joining Manchester United on loan from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua until the end of the season.

Ighalo became the first Nigerian and the seventh African player to sign for the Red Devils. After making three substitute appearances, he earned his first start in United’s Europa League round-of-32 second-leg clash against Club Brugge on 27 February, scoring in a commanding 5–0 victory.

A week later, Ighalo netted his first brace for the club as Manchester United defeated Derby County 3–0 in the FA Cup.

Taribo West joined Inter Milan from French side Auxerre in June 1997 on a four-year contract.

He made his competitive debut in a 1–0 Coppa Italia victory over Foggia on 3 September 1997 and scored his first Serie A goal in a 2–1 win against Atalanta two months later.

West famously netted the extra-time winner against Schalke 04 in the 1997–98 UEFA Cup quarter-finals as Inter went on to lift the trophy, defeating Lazio 3–0 in the final.

In the January 2000 transfer window, West crossed the Milan divide to join AC Milan. He made his debut on 24 March 2000 as a late substitute in a 2–0 win over Juventus and scored his only goal for the club in a 4–0 victory over Udinese on 14 May 2000.

After two impressive seasons with Belgian side Genk, Wilfred Ndidi was announced as a Leicester City player on 5 January 2017.

Ndidi joined the Foxes when they were the reigning Premier League champions and made his debut on 7 January 2017 in a 2–1 FA Cup third-round victory over Everton.

He made his first Premier League start a week later, featuring in a 3–0 home defeat to Chelsea.

During his time at Leicester City, Ndidi won the FA Cup, Community Shield and the EFL Championship title, cementing his status as one of Nigeria’s most successful midfield exports.