By Oluwadamilola Olaleye
Nigerian midfielder Ebenezer Akinsanmiro has been ranked among the top 10 Under-21 performers in the 2025/2026 Serie A season, reflecting his rapid rise in Italian football.
Compiled from the first eleven matchdays, the rankings feature only two African players—Akinsanmiro and Senegal’s Mikail Faye, stressing the 20-year-old’s growing influence.
Akinsanmiro sits eighth with a season rating of 6.90, joining highly regarded young talents such as Nico Paz (7.51), Jacobo Ramón (7.29), and Juventus star Kenan Yıldız (7.27).
Akinsanmiro has played in ten of Pisa’s eleven league fixtures, registering one assist while consistently demonstrating composure, intelligence, and maturity in midfield.
His standout performances include a goalless draw against Fiorentina on September 28 and a 2–2 draw with AC Milan at the San Siro on October 24, where he assisted one of Pisa’s goals.
Remarkably, he has completed the full 90 minutes in seven of his ten appearances.
With his rapid development and growing reputation, Akinsanmiro is being tipped for a senior Super Eagles call-up ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
