Moses Ashikodi

Moses Ashikodi (born June 27, 1987, in Lagos, Nigeria) is an England professional football (soccer) currently playing in the Football League Championship for Watford F.C.. He is of Nigerian (paternal) and Antiguan (maternal) heritage.

Ashikodi, a striker, has played for England at youth levels, including appearances at the 2002 Under 16 Victory Shield (scoring in a 1-0 victory against Wales), the 2003 Under 17 Pepsi Tournament and an Under 18 substitute appearance against Norway. At Under 19 level, he scored the only two goals in the game against Switzerland on 16 November 2005.

Ashikodi started his career at Millwall F.C.. At fifteen years old, he became their youngest player ever when he debuted at Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. in March, 2003. He went on to record five substitute (football) appearances for the Bermondsey club.

Ashikodi's career at Millwall effectively ended on 4 February 2004, after a training ground incident that reportedly saw Ashikodi threaten team-mate Mark McCammon with a knife. Millwall's then-Chairman Theo Paphitis confirmed that a "very serious incident" had occurred and said that an investigation would be launched. Ashikodi was suspended while the investigation was carried out. The following month, he left the club by mutual consent. A club statement read that "The disciplinary process has been concluded. We wish him the best of luck in his future career."

He made the move to East London, England rivals West Ham United F.C. in August 2004. "Everybody deserves a second chance - and to be fair he seems a lot calmer than Tomáš Řepka!" said Alan Pardew upon signing him. Although he did not appear for the first team at West Ham, he was part of the team that reached the last 8 of the FA Youth Cup, and was the clubs top scorer at reserve level that season.

In July, 2005, he went on trial at Rushden & Diamonds F.C. for a week with a view to a loan deal, but ended up playing on loan at Gillingham F.C. for the rest of the year.

Released by West Ham, Ashikodi moved to Scottish Premier League club Rangers F.C. during the January 2006 transfer window, signing on a six month deal with the possibility of a longer contract. He made his only full appearance for the club as a late substitute in an Old Firm game at Parkhead on 23 April 2006.

In January 2007 Ashikodi moved to Watford for a nominal fee. He made his debut for Watford on January 6 2007 and scored the final goal in a 4-1 FA Cup win over Stockport County, playing his first FA Premier League game against Aston Villa on January 20.

Ashikodi was loaned to Football League One side Bradford City A.F.C. in March 2007. He played 8 times for the Bantams, scoring twice. His loan spell was cut short after he sustained a broken leg in a fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., which ruled him out for the remainder of the season.