Youngest Nigerian to play for Chelsea: Son of ex-Super Eagles LB fails to break Anjorin's record
Published: April 17, 2025
Landon Emenalo, son of former Nigeria international left-back Michael Emenalo, was unable to make history as Chelsea suffered a surprising 2-1 loss to Legia Warsaw in the second leg of their UEFA Conference League quarterfinal clash at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.
Had he featured against the Polish side, Emenalo would have become the youngest Nigerian to make an appearance for Chelsea's first team in a competitive game, aged 17 years and 89 days.
Chelsea academy graduate Tino Anjorin currently holds the record, having made his professional debut for the Blues at 17 years and 306 days old against Grimsby Town in September 2019.
Emenalo was included in Chelsea's UEFA Conference League squad before the Legia Warsaw clash, making him eligible for the matchday lineup alongside Tosin Adarabioyo and Tyrique George.
The versatile midfielder earned his first call-up to Chelsea's first team following his impressive performances for the club's U18 and U21 teams this season.
The youngster was set to don the number 72 shirt had he made his professional bow against Legia Warsaw.
Despite the loss, it was Chelsea who triumphed 4-2 on aggregate, with the damage done in the second half a week ago in Warsaw when they won 3-0, but they were not at their best tonight.
Tomas Pekhart gave Legia the lead inside ten minutes when he converted a spot kick but Marc Cucurella equalized twelve minutes before halftime.
Eight minutes after the restart, Chelsea's defense was breached from a corner, with Steve Kapuadi finding the net to make it 2-1 and bring an end to the Blues' nine-match winning streak in Europe.
Manchester United academy product of Nigerian descent Maxi Oyedele played the full game for Legia Warsaw.
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Photo Credit: chelseafc.com
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