Lookman, Boniface lead market value slide

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Several Super Eagles stars suffered heavy drops in their market value across Europe’s top leagues in the 2025/26 season, with Ademola Lookman and Victor Boniface leading the fall amid injuries, failed transfers, poor form and reduced playing time, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

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While Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukweze recorded slight increases in value, several key Super Eagles players saw their market prices tumble, a decline that dragged Nigeria’s overall squad valuation down to €172.05m and pushed the Super Eagles to seventh among Africa’s most valuable national teams, outside the continent’s top five.

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No Nigerian player suffered a bigger crash than Boniface. The striker began the period valued at around €40m, having previously peaked at €45m, but his value plunged to just €5m after a disastrous campaign.

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The decline started when a proposed move to AC Milan collapsed over concerns from his medical, after which he remained at Bayer Leverkusen before joining Werder Bremen on a season-long loan in September 2025.

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The move failed to revive him. The 25-year-old scored no goals in 11 Bundesliga appearances, managed two assists from 332 minutes of football, and later underwent knee surgery in January that ended his season. He has since returned to parent club Leverkusen at the end of the loan.

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Lookman began the season as one of Africa’s most valuable footballers.

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After helping Atalanta win the UEFA Europa League, claiming the CAF Player of the Year award and finishing 14th in the Ballon d’Or rankings, his value climbed to €60m. It has since fallen to €40m.

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His output dropped sharply, from 20 goals and seven assists in 2024/25 to three goals and two assists in nineteen matches before he left Bergamo. A proposed move to Inter Milan fell through, he reportedly requested a transfer, and he briefly fell out of Atalanta’s matchday squads before the Italian club sold him to Atletico Madrid for around €40m in February 2026.

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Taiwo Awoniyi’s value has fallen steadily since peaking at €30m in October 2023.

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By mid-2026, the Nottingham Forest striker’s value had dropped to €8m from €16m a year earlier, hurt by a prolonged goal drought that saw him score only once in 26 Premier League appearances, including an 11-match barren run. Chris Wood’s rise to first-choice striker limited Awoniyi to 396 league minutes across the season.

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Terem Moffi’s decline began earlier, after he suffered a serious ACL injury in pre-season training with Nice in July 2024 that kept him out for 243 days. He managed only two Ligue 1 goals in ten appearances before his season took a further turn following Nice’s 3-1 defeat to Lorient on November 30, when angry supporters confronted the players on their return, an incident that affected him badly and led to a breakdown in his relations with the club. He joined FC Porto on loan in January 2026, with an optional purchase clause of just €8m, down from a peak value of €25m.

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Wilfred Ndidi remains one of the most dramatic examples of long-term decline. Once valued at €60m during his best years at Leicester City, the 29-year-old’s value has been hit by injuries, declining physical output and Leicester’s relegation.

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He joined Besiktas in August 2025 and made 25 Turkish Super Lig appearances, scoring two goals, but the club endured a mixed campaign, and Ndidi has attracted fresh transfer interest this summer, including a bid from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad worth around €10.5m. His current valuation stands at €8m, a huge fall from his Leicester peak.

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