Youngest Nigerian to score at a World Cup reveals he was priced out of moves to Arsenal, Man Utd

Former Super Eagles striker Julius Aghahowa has revealed that he was priced out of potential moves to Premier League giants Arsenal and Manchester United during his first spell at Shakhtar Donetsk.

A celebrated figure in Nigerian football, the Bendel Insurance product is still the youngest Nigerian player to score at a Fifa World Cup, netting the Super Eagles' only goal at the 2002 tournament at the age of 20 years and 115 days in a 2-1 defeat to Sweden.

The forward first came to prominence during the 1999 Fifa U20 World Cup hosted by Nigeria, where he scored in the Flying Eagles' 1-1 draw against Costa Rica.

Despite an agreement for a move to a Danish second-tier club, it was Tunisian side Esperance that secured his signature, before he joined Shakhtar Donetsk.

In Ukraine, Aghahowa quickly adapted to challenging weather conditions and delivered consistent goalscoring performances, catching the attention of Europe's elite clubs, including Arsenal and Manchester United.

Reflecting on the failed transfers, Aghahowa told AySuga Channel: "The Shakhtar Donetsk president said, 'This guy is going nowhere'. 

"So offers started coming in from Arsenal, Manchester United, all those teams that had already seen me play at the Fifa U20 World Cup.

"From the first game to the 15th week, I was just scoring. When the pressure was high, he said, 'I am going to put $40 million at that time', and all those clubs said, 'No, he’s a young player; we cannot pay that', so they backed off."

Aghahowa finally sealed a transfer to the Premier League, joining Wigan Athletic in January 2007. 

He managed just five Premier League starts in a one-and-a-half-year spell at Wigan, struggling to replicate the form that had once made Europe's top clubs pursue him.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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