Where Are They Now: Yakubu
How Did He Fare in England?
Yakubu was a consistent striker during his time in England, his goalscoring prowess commanding higher and higher transfer fees and wages as he moved from club to club.
During Portsmouth’s Championship campaign, Yakubu was scoring a goal every two games and was instrumental in getting Pompey promoted. Upon Portsmouth’s promotion to the Premier League, Yakubu went through a slight goal drought despite scoring in his second Premier League match. This proved to be an outlier in Yakubu’s Portsmouth career as he finished the season with 11 goals in 10 matches.
The following season (2004-2005) would prove to be Yakubu’s last on the South Coast. He scored 13 goals in a Portsmouth shirt that season. He saved Pompey from relegation, scoring an equalizer against Bolton Wanderers in a six-pointer, and ended his time at Portsmouth as their highest ever scorer in the Premier League.
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Middlesbrough was the next stop for Yakubu, moving to the North Yorkshire outfit for a Nigerian record £7.5 million. The Yak continued his consistent goalscoring ways at Middlesbrough, netting 13 league goals in his first season and 12 in his second. Yakubu combined with Dutch ace Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink to help Middlesbrough reach the UEFA Cup final in 2006, although the side would finish runners-up to Sevilla.
Slightly after the start to the 2007 season Everton made a move for Yakubu paying £11.25 million for the Nigerian, a club record at the time. He was an immediate return on investment in Merseyside. He scored 10 minutes into his club debut. He bagged a hat-trick four months later against Fulham at Goodison Park.
He ended his first season at Everton with 15 league goals and 21 goals in all competitions. Yakubu’s brace against Newcastle United on the last day of the season allowed Everton to secure a berth in the Europa league the following year.
His sophomore season at Everton was cut unfortunately short with the Yak rupturing his achilles tendon, sidelining him for the rest of the season. He mounted a brief comeback but his subsequent seasons with the Toffees saw Yakubu’s notorious nose for goal slip away.
After a season out of the Premier League with Leicester, Yakubu returned to the Premier League in 2011 with Blackburn Rovers. History repeated itself in Yakubu’s debut match with Blackburn Rovers facing Arsenal. Yakubu scored his debut goal at Middlesbrough against Arsenal and he did the same again for Blackburn, scoring a brace against Arsene Wenger’s men as Blackburn Rovers downed the Gunners 4-3 in a come-from-behind win.
Fans chanted “Feed the Yak and he will score!” and he did. Yakubu put four past Swansea City, and scored a magnificent brace in a Blackburn win over Manchester United at Old Trafford (on Fergie’s 70th birthday no less). While the season closed with Yakubu netting 18 league goals, Blackburn were ultimately relegated.
The Yak’s career in the Premier League came to a close with the end of the 2011-2012 season. Yakubu finished his Premier League career with over 250 appearances and 96 league goals.
Next: Where is He Now?