With a 329th Premier League appearance in Fulham 1-1 Aston Villa, Nigerian midfielder Alex Iwobi overtakes Mohamed Salah and moves into sole second place among the most-capped African players in the English top flight.
The ranking of the most-capped Africans in Premier League history has changed. According to eFotbal, Fulham midfielder Alex Iwobi made his 329th appearance in the English top flight in the Fulham 1-1 Aston Villa match, which allows him to overtake Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who has 328 Premier League appearances.
The 30-year-old Nigerian therefore moves into sole second place in the ranking, behind former defender Kolo Touré, who played for Arsenal and Manchester City. A midfielder who came through the ranks at Arsenal, his longevity in the Premier League is thus confirmed.
Twenty-four matches behind Touré
At the top of the standings, Kolo Touré holds the record with 353 Premier League appearances, 24 more than Iwobi, eFotbal reports. The road is therefore still long for Iwobi if he wants to one day take the record of the former defender.
Behind the Iwobi-Salah duo, the next generation of Africans remains at a distance: Jordan Ayew and Wilfried Zaha both follow with 305 appearances, 24 fewer than the Nigerian.
Arsenal, Everton, Fulham: 36 goals and a 100 club
Trained at Arsenal, Alex Iwobi began his Premier League career there and established himself in 2015, before spending four seasons at Everton from 2019. Since September 2023, he has worn the colours of Fulham and has added 19 goals to his tally there, for 36 Premier League goals in total: 11 with Arsenal, 6 with Everton and 19 with Fulham.
September also added another line to his CV: according to eFotbal, the midfielder became the 5th player to make at least 100 Premier League appearances with three different clubs, after Gary Speed, Rory Delap, Gareth Barry and James Milner.
What next with Fulham
Iwobi’s counter should not stop there: his next Premier League match with Fulham will give him the chance to consolidate his second place, while Salah, one behind, could take the position back with his next appearance in the Liverpool shirt.
Fulham’s next Premier League match is still to be played.