PulseSports30: Okoye tops Ndidi as Felix Agu makes first appearance

PulseSports30 makes a return for the fourth year, recognising the 30 best-performing Nigerian footballers from the 2024/2025 football season.

A non-discriminatory annual ranking, PulseSports30 considers footballers of Nigerian heritage who performed excellently either in Africa, Asia, Europe, North/South America, or Oceania.

Every day, we will reveal a batch of five players who made our list until we get to number one. 

We continue this year's ranking by revealing players ranked between 20-16

Last season, Félix Agu consistently delivered for Werder Bremen, featuring in 22 Bundesliga matches and scoring three goals.

He helped Werder Bremen to an impressive 8th-place league finish and a DFB-Pokal quarter-final appearance. On the season's final day, Agu reached a personal best sprint speed of 36.31 km/h. This was the fastest recorded speed in the Bundesliga on that matchday.

He also boasted an impressive 95.8% passing accuracy and was named to the kicker "Team of the Day" after scoring a remarkable long-range goal against Holstein Kiel.

Super Eagles defender Bruno Onyemaechi made an immediate splash after his January 2025 move to Olympiacos from Boavista, featuring prominently in their historic double-winning campaign.

The 26-year-old left-back played a total of 6 matches (4 in the Super League play‑offs, 2 in the Greek Cup), registering 1 assist in the domestic cup.

His contribution helped Olympiacos clinch the Greek Super League title on 13 April, 2025 and complete the domestic double by winning the Greek Cup on 17 May, 2025, securing Champions League qualification in the process.

Although Bright Osayi-Samuel neither scored nor assisted in Fenerbahce’s push for a 20th Super Lig crown and first since the 2013-14 season, the wide defender was crucial in providing width for Jose Mourinho’s men. 

Operating primarily as a right-back or wing-back, Osayi-Samuel frequently advanced the ball into dangerous zones and maintained a presence in the opposition's box. 

Despite the absence of direct goal contributions, the defender stretched opposition defences and initiated attacks from the right flank, which is notable by his high progressive carrying numbers — he ranked in the 81st percentile, proving that he was a key outlet for transitioning defence into attack. 

Relegation is never a good thing, but one can argue that Wilfred Ndidi’s value remained high despite adversity, judging from reported interest in his services from across Europe. 

Leicester City suffered their worst run during his lengthy injury spell; before that, he was delivering top-level performances week in, week out. The 2024-25 season saw him produce 5 Premier League assists in his first 10 games. 

Although the collective season was a huge disappointment, Ndidi can take pride in his achievements, and the 28-year-old should have no trouble finding a new club.

Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye featured heavily for Udinese in the 2024/25 season, making 25 Serie A appearances and playing a total of 2,250 minutes.

The German-born shot-stopper kept 4 clean sheets and conceded 38 goals, while pulling off 38 saves from 59 shots on target, yielding a solid 64.4% save percentage.

That positions him firmly within Serie A’s top half in terms of raw saves and efficiency.

Beyond the raw numbers, Okoye ranked top in the league for in‑box saves (30) and consistently denied high‑danger chances.

Meanwhile, Udinese’s strong 12th‑place finish owes much to Okoye’s reliability; his performances under pressure kept them comfortably clear of relegation. It’s no wonder why he has already been tipped to reclaim the no.1 shirt in the national team.

Click here to see players ranked from 25-21.