From Bauchi to Brighton: The making of Nigeria’s new wonderkid Yohanna

Barely a year after signing his first professional contract with AIK, Zadok Yohanna has commanded a Swedish record fee for a move to Brighton. ABIODUN ADEWALE traces the enduring journey of the player from the dusty pitches of Northern Nigeria to global reckoning

In 2025, AIK’s chief scout, Herish Sadi, embarked on an ambitious talent-hunting mission across Africa.

For months, the Swede travelled through Tanzania, Senegal, Mali, Liberia, Morocco, Algeria, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, searching for young players capable of making the leap from African football to Europe.

He had spent only a few months in his new role, having stepped down as the club’s Sporting Director.

“Being able to do this for AIK—helping the club gain ground in the African market—will hopefully contribute to taking us to a new, better level. The potential of African players is incredible, and being part of changing someone’s life through our club is something I truly appreciate,” Sadi wrote in a parting note on his LinkedIn page in late 2025.

“I can’t wait to see these players wearing an AIK shirt and hopefully performing at our home ground in front of our amazing supporters.”

By the time Sadi returned home, one of the prospects he had identified – a teenage midfielder from northern Nigeria who was barely known outside youth football circles – was already paying off tremendously for the club

The player was Zadok Yohanna, a player for whom Sadi effectively put his job on the line when AIK paid €750,000 to sign him in July 2025. He watched him for about 20 minutes at the FIFA Goal Project in Abuja and convinced the club to pay for him before other clubs hijacked the deal.

From Ikon Allah Football Academy in Kaduna, to AIK in Stockholm, Sweden, Yohanna’s meteoric rise culminated in a move to Premier League club, Brighton & Hove Albion, who paid AIK €28m for his signature in June 2026, making him the most expensive player ever sold by a Swedish club.

For AIK, it was a masterstroke, but for Yohanna and the owner of Ikon Allah Football Academy, Ayi Mohammed, it was the latest chapter in a journey that began on dusty pitches hundreds of kilometres away from Stockholm.

Discovery in Bauchi

Long before AIK entered the conversation, Yohanna was just a gifted youngster from Bauchi. He was first spotted by a former player of Ikon Allah named Waziri. At the time, Yohanna’s older brother was already in Kaduna under Mohammed’s care.

“I picked Zadok Yohanna at the age of 11 from Bauchi to come and join the academy in Kaduna,” Mohammed recalled in an interview with Sunday PUNCH.

It was his older brother who went back to Bauchi to bring him to Kaduna and what Mohammed saw next convinced him he had found a special talent. In effect, it was a swap of sorts; his older brother returned home while Yohanna stayed with Mohammed.

“By the time he was 13, I had already seen his talent completely and I kept telling everyone that he was meant for the top level.”

The conviction ran so deep that Mohammed took an unusual step. At just 14 years old, he got Yohanna a passport and handed it over to his foreign partners in anticipation of a future opportunity abroad.

“I told him that, soon, this is a player who could change our lives. The passport was with him for three years,” he said.

While his destiny was unfolding, Yohanna also played more than football at Ikon Allah – he warmed the hearts of everyone with his humility.

“He is very creative, he is intelligent, he is disciplined and he dedicates himself to the service. This is one great thing I’ve just seen with him. You know, sometimes psychologically we study people from their actions,” Yohanna’s ex-coach at Ikon Allah, Peter John, said while reflecting on his character beyond the pitch.

“I can send him on errands from morning till night and he will still not miss training. He is very calm with handling other players who come to our camp for trials too. He would receive them from the park, sort them in camp and ensure they depart safely,” Mohammed added.

National team rejection and a trial that convinced AIK

Before the chance to dazzle in front of scouts from Europe, Yohanna had the chance to play his way into the Nigeria U-17 national team – a team that had produced so many other stars like Nwankwo Kanu, Kelechi Iheanacho, Taiwo Awoniyi, Victor Osimhen, among others for the country.

In 2023, he was dropped and when he got close a year later, the mandatory MRI scan let him down.

By 2025, Mohammed pitched him for the U-20 team, the Flying Eagles; the outcome remained the same.

“I described Zadok as money in the bank to them but they took it as a joke. In fact, they started calling me ‘Money in the Bank’,” Mohammed told Sunday PUNCH.

Perhaps no one saw what he saw, but his story was about to change.

The day Yohanna’s U-20 national team ambitions suffered another setback happened to coincide with one of the most important moments of his life. It was the day AIK’s Chief Scout, Sadi and others sat in Abuja to watch potential stars from Nigeria.

Knowing the initial disappointment could consume the teenager, Mohammed gave him a pep talk, letting him realise how that moment could erase the setbacks with the Nigerian age-grade teams.

“Within two minutes, he scored during the trials. The second time he dribbled and dribbled and then scored. The AIK guy told me there that he was done. We wanted Zadok to play another match but he said there was no need. He said he was closing the deal officially right there,” the academy chief recalled.

“Around 1 am, the AIK chief scout called to ask what name he wanted at the back of his jersey, then he said Yohanna.”

Sweden’s gamble and how Brighton won

Less than a year after signing Yohanna, AIK’s balance sheet was transformed and they have rewritten the Swedish transfer record after selling the 18-year-old to Brighton & Hove Albion.

They bought potential and their faith was rewarded far quicker than anyone could have imagined.

“There were a lot of scouts there, and we had to move fast,” Sadi said while speaking to Fotbollskanalen podcast.

“I called AIK’s CEO and said; How would a hundred million Krona (€10m) feel? You need to close this deal right away. If he doesn’t turn out well, fire me. Fire me without compensation, I said.”

In Stockholm, Yohanna adapted rapidly, breaking into the first team in August 2025, thanks to his technical ability and confidence on the ball.

He made his debut on August 17, 2025, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute against IFK Göteborg at Gamla Ullevi in a 2–1 defeat. Three days later, he made his first start, playing the full match in a Svenska Cupen qualifying fixture against Hudiksvalls FF, which AIK won 7–0.

His first goal came on February 28, 2026 during a 3-0 win at IK Oddevold. He came on as a substitute in the game.

On March 9, 2026, Yohanna scored his first two goals for AIK in a 4–0 win over BK Häcken at Strawberry Arena, securing qualification for the quarter-finals of the Swedish Cup. He maintained his scoring form in the quarter-final against GAIS, netting one of AIK’s goals, although the team lost 3–2 and exited the competition.

On April 5, 2026, Yohanna scored his first league goal, announcing himself in the Allsvenskan during AIK’s opening game of the season at Strawberry Arena. Before his transfer a month later, he added one more goal and three assists for the Swedish club.

As his performances improved, interest spread across Europe. However, there was really no hype around him until the teams began to show interest.

Despite interests from reigning UEFA Champions League winners PSG, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Tottenham, Brighton & Hove Albion won the race to sign Yohanna, paying AIK €28m.

The move established a new Swedish transfer record. The previous record was Lucas Bergvall – Djurgårdens IF to Tottenham Hotspur, 2024 for €20m.

Aside from that, he became the second most expensive teenager in Nigerian football, eclipsing the transfer fees the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho (€27.7m), Victor Osimhen (€22.40m) and Mikel Obi (€20.00m) attracted. The only player ahead of him is Lagos-born forward, George Ilenikhena who moved from AS Monaco to Al-Ittihad for €33m in February 2026.

But the move wasn’t about money for Yohanna. After putting pen to paper on a five-year deal, the 18-year-old was visibly emotional but was unequivocal about what he wanted to achieve in England.

“I want to make my family proud. I watch Premier League games a lot, so I know the teams that use young players, and Brighton is one of them,” Yohanna told the club’s website.

“They are really good at developing young talents, and I think their style of play will fit me a lot.”

He also revealed he had spoken to head coach Fabian Hurzeler prior to agreeing to come to the club. “He urged me to keep fighting and working hard. I will give everything I have and I really want to win trophies with the team.”

The Super Eagles dream

Ironically, Yohanna could already have made his senior Nigeria debut before signing his contract. The left-footed player had been invited by Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle for the 2026 Unity Cup in London in May

But timing intervened. A minor injury required careful management, so AIK took caution despite the player’s willingness to obey the clarion call.

“A lot of national team invitations will still come,” Mohammed said with confidence.

“I want him to represent the country too. I am confident that by God’s grace, he will play at the Nations Cup and the World Cup for Nigeria with impact. This is a player the whole country will celebrate,” he added.

Many Yohannas, few breakthroughs

Yohanna’s success story belongs to the player, but it also belongs to the people who refused to stop believing in him.

It also begs for answers from a system that only sees such breakthroughs only occasionally despite the abundance of talent in the country. Mohammed believes it takes patience on the part of the players and investors.

“Everything happening now is not magic,” Mohammed said.

“I have told some people that it is not Zadok that God blessed. I am the one that God blessed, because He knows what I have passed through. The problem is that the majority of the players don’t have patience. While you are following due process and investing, some people are somewhere and they are telling them lies.”

A UK-based sports consultant with clubs in Nigeria and Europe, Ben Eni, also adds that the bottleneck of global passage makes the challenges worse.

“The quality of players has improved a lot but it has been practically impossible to transfer players in the past five years due to visa issues. Foreigners have to come and use their influence to get visas. So, I think the federation has a lot to do to help embassies verify the true players who intend to travel abroad,” he told Sunday PUNCH.

Yohanna’s success may have overshadowed the pain, sacrifice and uncertainty that defined his journey, but it does not erase them.

From the dusty pitches of Bauchi and Kaduna to a record-breaking move to Brighton, his story is not one of overnight breakthroughs. And if his rise so far is any indication, this may only be the beginning of another Nigerian superstar’s journey onto the world stage. (Punch)