Yakubu Aiyegbeni Biography

Full Name :
Ayegbeni Yakubu

Nationality :
Nigeria

Squad No :
22

Position :
Forward

Birth Date :
Nov 22, 1982

Birthplace :
Nigeria

Height :
1.83m

Weight :
83 kg

Yakubu Ayegbeni joined Everton for a Club record fee of £11.25 million.

The striker switched from Middlesbrough to Merseyside with the 2007/08 season barely two weeks old.

Yakubu began his career with Israeli side Maccabi Haifa before moving to Portsmouth in January 2003.

The Nigerian international shot to fame during his time on the south coast in which he scored 29 Premiership goals in just 68 games.

Nicknamed The Yak, he is a powerful striker and one feared by Premiership defences.

After being courted by many clubs, Yakubu signed for Middlesbrough for £7.5 million in 2005 and ended the season as the club’s top goalscorer with 19 league and cup goals.

He formed a formidable partnership with Mark Viduka and helped spearhead Boro into the UEFA Cup final in 2006.

Yakubu's Everton career got off to a flying start when he scored on his debut against Bolton Wanderers.

He remained a constant scoring threat throughout the season, notching a career best 21 goals.

That haul included hat-tricks against Fulham and SK Brann. But it wasn't an unblemished season for the striker as he was dropped by David Moyes following a late return from the African Cup of Nations.

Yakubu was the first Toffees player to score more than 20 goals in a season since Peter Beardsley in 1992.

And he began the 2008/09 campaign in similar fashion, notching four times in the first five games.

Sadly though, his season ended in late November when a ruptured Achilles as Tottenham ruled him out until the summer of 2009.

Yakubu made his comeback in September 2009, and scored in the Carling Cup at Hull that month. He then featured regularly before heading to the African Cup of Nations after Christmas.

Yakubu was then selected in the Nigeria squad for the 2010 World Cup alongside then Everton team-mate Joseph Yobo.

The striker started all three games for the Super Eagles in South Africa, and netted in the final group game against South Korea. But Yakubu is likely to be remembered for a high-profile close range miss in the same game.