Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi has joined the elite company of Premier League royalty after becoming only the fifth player in the competition’s history to make 100 appearances for three different clubs, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Iwobi reached the landmark after starting for Fulham in their 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

The Nigeria international had already made 100 Premier League appearances for Arsenal and 123 for Everton before completing his century for the Cottagers.

He now joins Gareth Barry, James Milner, Gary Speed and Rory Delap as the only players to have achieved 100 or more Premier League appearances for three separate clubs, taking his overall tally in the competition to 322 matches.

Fulham took the lead in the 11th minute when Joshua King collected the ball inside the box before firing a deflected effort past Dean Henderson. Palace responded through Tyrick Mitchell in the 35th minute, after his earlier effort had been ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

Cesar Palacios restored Fulham’s lead in the 42nd minute by firing home a rebound, but Mitchell completed his brace nine minutes into the second half to make it 2-2.

Crystal Palace eventually completed the comeback in the 77th minute when Ben Chilwell reacted quickest to a loose ball inside the box and fired into the bottom corner. Fellow Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey also featured for Fulham in the match.

The result extended a difficult start to the season for Fulham under new manager Alvaro Arbeloa, who had already seen his side lose 3-2 to Chelsea on the opening day before slipping to a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland.

Iwobi’s road to the milestone began far from Craven Cottage.

Born in Lagos, he moved to England as a child and was taken into Arsenal’s Hale End academy at the age of six. He progressed quietly through the club’s youth ranks before Arsene Wenger handed him his senior debut in a League Cup tie at the start of the 2015/16 season.

Four days later, on October 31, 2015, Iwobi made his Premier League debut as a late substitute in a 3-0 victory over Swansea City.

He went on to spend four seasons in Arsenal’s first team, operating as a winger and attacking midfielder alongside the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, and left the club with 100 Premier League appearances, 11 goals and 17 assists to his name, along with an FA Cup winner’s medal.

Wenger’s departure in 2018 marked a turning point in Iwobi’s career, one he later said came without warning to the players.

Everton paid around €34m to sign Iwobi in August 2019, and the move brought an early period of scrutiny as a revolving door of managers shifted him between the left wing, the right wing, wing-back and central midfield.

He gradually reinvented himself as a hard-working, tactically disciplined presence, and his standout campaign came in 2022/23, when he started all 38 Premier League matches as Everton fought off relegation. He left Merseyside having made 123 appearances, scoring six goals and providing 11 assists.

Fulham signed Iwobi in September 2023 on a contract running until 2028, reuniting him with Marco Silva, who had worked with him briefly at Everton. The move has proven a turning point for the midfielder, who has since become a key figure in Fulham’s midfield and scored more than 18 goals in all competitions last season, comfortably his best return at any club.

Iwobi’s achievement also carries wider significance for African football. Several African players have enjoyed considerable success in the Premier League, including Didier Drogba, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Yaya Toure and Nwankwo Kanu, as well as his uncle, Austin “Jay-Jay” Okocha, but none had previously reached 100 appearances for three different clubs.