A year on from Atletico Madrid: Is Samu Aghehowa Spain’s next top striker? | OneFootball

It has been a superb run of form for the Spanish national team. After a decade of hibernation, La Roja have awakened with a fury by winning the 2024 UEFA European Championship and setting a record for the most goals in a single edition of the Euros (15) as well as a single edition of the UEFA Nations League (25). There are several reasons behind Spain’s renaissance, but one of them is undoubtedly immigration.

Take a gander at Spain’s recent call-ups, and you’ll get a better understanding of this. Whereas last summer would see La Roja win the Euros thanks to a centre-back pairing composed of two French-born players (Aymeric Laporte and Robin Le Normand), they also won it thanks to two wingers of African descent: Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal. In fact, there’s reason to believe that, when Spain take the pitch for next summer’s World Cup in North America, they might just be fielding a front three solely consisting of progeny of African immigrants, with Samu Aghehowa primed to challenge for the starting centre-forward position.

Born in Melilla, Spain, to Nigerian parents, Samu grew up in Seville before making the move to Granada in 2021, where he would rise through the youth ranks and eventually make his debut on August 14, 2023. Aghehowa (then known as Omorodion) would take the opportunity by the scruff of its neck, scoring in a 3-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid and prompting the attention of the Rojiblancos, who triggered his €6m release clause before loaning him out to relegation rivals Deportivo Alaves. Whereas Granada failed to stay up in the top-flight, Alaves steered clear of the drop thanks to Aghehowa, who finished as their top scorer with eight goals.

With Antoine Griezmann and new signings Alexander Sorloth and Julian Alvarez ahead of him in the pecking order, Atletico manager Diego Simeone decided to sanction the sale of Aghehowa on a permanent deal. He was all but confirmed to join Chelsea only for the transfer to crash at the last second due to problems surrounding an ankle injury that were uncovered during his medicals as well as issues during image rights negotiations. Aghehowa was then banished from Atleti’s first-team training and forced to spend the final weeks of the summer window waiting for another club to swoop in for him. Eventually, Portuguese giants Porto decided to sign him on the 24th of August to a five-year deal, inserting a €100m release clause into his contract.

Despite not having a full preseason, and despite playing in an underperforming Porto side, in transition following the exit of longtime manager Sergio Conceicao, Aghehowa took Porto by storm. Grabbing 25 goals in all competitions – including a brace against Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League – and finished as their top scorer. He successfully stepped into the void of Mehdi Taremi and Evanilson and embraced his new role as the Dragons’ attacking talisman, emerging as one of the few bright spots of an otherwise woeful campaign. Aghehowa continued these impressive displays throughout the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, delivering a dogged display in attack in Porto’s opening match vs. Palmeiras as well as bagging goals against Inter Miami and Al Ahly.

Image via Octavio Passos/Getty Images

“Samu is a very good, very strong attacker who you’ve always got to stay close to,” stated Palmeiras defender Murilo, who was in charge of marking him, to Football Espana after the match. “I had studied his game beforehand, and he’s a very big attacker who you’ve always got to stay on top of, and that’s basically what I did. Of course, there were a few fouls that I gave him that perhaps I didn’t need to, but it was a very good duel.”

It’s these stellar displays which saw Porto throw all their chips on the table with regards to Samu. Having paid €15m for 50% of his rights, Porto decided to acquire the remaining 50% for a total ​​€12m. It means that when Aghehowa does eventually fetch Atletico a hefty transfer fee, they’ll be taking in all of the profits. And having just turned 21 years of age, there’s every reason to believe that Aghehowa can build on his initial success and deliver a stellar sophomore campaign with Porto.

Aghehowa has already made a name for himself with La Roja, winning the Gold Medal in the 2024 Summer Olympics, making two appearances for the senior team, and claiming a runners-up medal in the UEFA Nations League. And whilst he faces stern competition from veteran players like Mikel Oyarzabal and Alvaro Morata, he is more than capable of staking his claim for a key first-team role under Luis de la Fuente going into next summer’s FIFA World Cup.