Top 6 highest-paid Nigerian stars in 2026-27 Premier League: Iwobi, Bassey, Aina ranked

A number of Nigerian footballers will again be a part of the 2026-27 Premier League season with many of them smiling to the banks with big salaries, Soccernet.ng reports.

There are a few changes to be expected among the Nigerian group when the campaign kicks off next week. Coventry City are back in the Premier League after a 25-year absence, with Nigeria midfielder Frank Onyeka joining them permanently from Brentford.

Hull City have also returned to the top flight, bringing Nigerian defender Semi Ajayi and winger David Akintola into the Premier League. The same goes for Chuba Akpom and Ipswich Town. Brighton signed teen wonder Zadok Yohanna and could unleash the Nigerian winger on the English top-tier at some point during the season.

More Super Eagles stars could still join Premier League clubs with Osimhen linked to Arsenal and Femi Azeez on the radar of Ipswich Town and Hull City.

Here is the ranking, from lowest to highest, using Capology’s available 2026-27 salary figures.

Premier League: Nigeria’s top earners

6. David Akintola, Hull City: £15,000 a week

David Akintola is the lowest-paid Nigerian in this ranking, with Capology estimating his gross fixed salary at £15,000 a week, equal to £780,000 a year. His Hull City contract runs until June 2027.

Akintola, 30, is entering his first Premier League season. The winger joined Hull in August 2025 after spells in Denmark, Cyprus and Turkey. He scored his first Hull goal in a 1-0 win over Sheffield United back in October. Akintola has never previously played a Premier League match, and the 2026-27 campaign gives him his first chance to play regularly at England’s top level.

Hull earned promotion at Wembley in May. They beat Middlesbrough 1-0 in the Championship play-off final, with Oli McBurnie scoring in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Akintola was part of the squad that helped the club return to the Premier League.

The first challenge is a major one. Hull’s return means Akintola will face some of the world’s most expensive squads while earning a fraction of the wages paid to Nigeria’s leading Premier League earners.

5. Semi Ajayi, Hull City: £17,500 a week

Semi Ajayi is next on £17,500 a week. That works out at £910,000 a year, excluding bonuses. His Hull contract expires in June 2027.

The 32-year-old centre-back brings something Akintola does not: Premier League experience. Ajayi played for West Bromwich Albion in the top flight and has also represented Cardiff City, Rotherham United and Arsenal at earlier stages of his career. He joined Hull in June 2025 and became an important part of the defence that secured promotion.

His experience was especially useful during the promotion play-offs. Ajayi started the second leg of Hull’s semi-final against Millwall on 11 May 2026, a 2-0 victory that sent Hull to Wembley. He also started the final against Middlesbrough, helping his side keep a clean sheet before McBurnie’s late winner.

Ajayi’s salary is less than a quarter of Nigeria’s top earner but his role could be just as important to Hull’s attempt to survive their first Premier League season since returning to the top flight.

4. Calvin Bassey, Fulham: £45,000 a week

Calvin Bassey moves the ranking into the higher wage bracket. The Fulham defender is estimated to earn £45,000 a week, or £2.34m a year, before bonuses. His contract runs until June 2027.

Bassey has become a regular Premier League defender since moving to Fulham from Ajax in July 2023. The Nigeria international was born in Italy and grew up in London. He came through Leicester City’s academy before moving to Rangers, where he helped the Scottish club win the league and reached the 2022 Europa League final.

The Super Eagles centre-back’s move to Fulham brought him back to the Premier League. During the 2024-25 campaign, he made 35 league appearances, starting 34 of them, and scored once. Bassey’s position also makes his salary interesting. Unlike some of the highest-paid stars, he is a defender, so much of his value comes from preventing goals rather than scoring them.

3. Taiwo Awoniyi, Nottingham Forest: £50,000 a week

Taiwo Awoniyi is third on the list at £50,000 a week. His estimated fixed annual salary is £2.6m, with his Forest contract due to expire in June 2027. The striker’s Premier League career has been affected by injuries, but he produced an important moment for Forest in May 2026.

Awoniyi made only his second start of the 2025-26 Premier League season when Forest visited Chelsea on 5 May. He scored twice and assisted the other as Forest won 3-1 at Stamford Bridge, a result that helped their fight to stay in the division. The Premier League selected him among the candidates for its Matchweek 35 Player of the Week award.

Awoniyi has now played 90 Premier League matches and scored 21 goals, according to the league’s player records.

His £50,000 weekly salary puts him £30,000 behind Iwobi. That gap adds up to £1.56m over a full year in fixed salary.

2. Ola Aina, Nottingham Forest: £60,000 a week

Ola Aina is second at £60,000 a week, giving him an estimated annual fixed salary of £3.12m. His contract with Nottingham Forest runs until June 2028.

Aina’s rise has been one of the more interesting Nigerian stories in the Premier League. The defender first appeared in the competition for Chelsea before later playing for Torino and Fulham and returning to England with Forest in 2023. He has since become an important part of Forest’s defence.

One of his most memorable Premier League moments came in January 2025 against Liverpool. With the match at the City Ground tied 1-1, Aina produced an 88th-minute goal-line clearance to deny Mohamed Salah a late winner. He then made another important clearance against Southampton in Forest’s next match.

Aina also played a major part in Forest’s 2024-25 campaign. He made 35 appearances, scored twice and provided one assist, while Forest secured European football for the first time since the 1995-96 season.

Capology’s salary estimate puts Aina £20,000 a week behind Iwobi. His annual fixed salary is also £1.04m lower.

1. Alex Iwobi, Fulham: £80,000 a week

Alex Iwobi sits comfortably at the top of the ranking. The former Arsenal man is the highest-paid Nigerian footballer in the Premier League for the 2026-27 season. Iwobi’s gross fixed salary is pegged at £80,000 a week, or £4.16m a year, before bonuses.

Iwobi’s position at the top comes after more than a decade in English football. He made his Premier League debut for Arsenal in October 2015 and later joined Everton before moving to Fulham in September 2023. The 30-year-old has now played more than 300 Premier League matches.

His 2025-26 season was another productive one. Premier League records give him 27 appearances, four goals and three assists, with 2,277 minutes played.

One of his most important performances came against Brentford in September 2025. Fulham were 1-0 down when Iwobi scored the equaliser and then supplied an assist as Marco Silva’s side won 3-1. Alan Shearer subsequently selected him in his Team of the Week and described him as a leader for Fulham.

Iwobi’s salary also reflects his long Premier League record. He has made 320 appearances, scored 35 goals and provided 41 assists in the competition.

He also reached a major international milestone in June when he won his 100th Nigeria cap, putting him among a small group of Super Eagles players to reach that mark.

NOTE: The figures are estimates rather than official club disclosures. Capology says its figures are based on public reporting, sources close to the website and, in some cases, its own calculations. They cover fixed pay and exclude bonuses, image rights and other commercial income.

What about Frank Onyeka and Zadok Yohanna?

Frank Onyeka deserves a special mention because he is now back in the Premier League with Coventry City.

Coventry signed the Nigeria midfielder permanently from Brentford after he helped them win the Championship and secure promotion. The deal followed a loan spell in which Onyeka made 14 appearances and scored once. Coventry’s return to the Premier League ended a 25-year wait for top-flight football.

However, Capology’s currently indexed salary record does not provide a clear 2026-27 Premier League salary figure for Onyeka after his permanent move. Its profile records his previous Coventry loan salary rather than a confirmed new 2026-27 figure. He has therefore not been placed in the main ranking. A similar situation applies to Brighton new signing, Zadok Yohanna.