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Chidera Ejuke [Credit: Google]
Nigerian winger Chidera Ejuke is on the ascendancy in Europe, being ranked top among players with the most successful dribbles in Europe’s Top 5 leagues, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The 26-year-old has completed 23 dribbles this season, one more than Barcelona wonder kid Lamine Yamal.
Ejuke’s compatriot and in-form Nantes forward, Moses Simon, is number six in the rankings and leads the French Ligue 1 dribbling stats with 20 successful dribbles in 507 minutes.
He is followed by Toulouse’s Yann Gboho and Le Havre’s Antoine Joujou with 15 dribbles each, though Joujou’s tally came in just 298 minutes, compared to Gboho’s 526.
West Ham United’s Mohammed Kudu is third on the list with 22 dribbles, followed by Fulham’s Adama Traore.
France and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe is fifth with 21 dribbles, while his teammate Vinicius Junior has 18 to occupy the seventh place behind Simon.
For Ejuke, it’s the second time the Nigerian will be ranked top among dribblers in the world in September, a strong indication that he hasn’t dropped the bar since moving to Sevilla in the summer.
Dribbling has been a crucial part of his game since he broke out at CSKA Moscow, where he was ranked the third-best dribbler in the world by the CIES Football Observatory publication in November 2021.
In 2019, he was also listed as one of the most exciting talents in the Dutch Eredivisie, thanks to his mastery of taking on opponents.
After spells in the Netherlands, Russia, and Belgium, Ejuke moved to Spain in the summer, joining Sevilla on a free transfer, and he is making an instant impact in the Spanish topflight.
He opened his La Liga account last Tuesday with an 85th-minute match-winner in their 2-1 victory against Real Valladolid at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium.
“It’s an important victory for the team. We needed this win, and it gives us the confidence to keep going,” he said after the game.
He was also involved in their 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao last Sunday.
Ejuke, who has eight caps playing for the Super Eagles, was part of Nigeria’s squad for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, where he made two appearances as the Super Eagles got knocked out in the round of 16 by Tunisia.
He debuted for the Nigeria national team in a friendly 1-1 tie with Tunisia on 13 October 2020.
