The story of Nigerian winger Zadok Johanna has become one of the biggest transfer stories in Swedish football this summer.
As reported by İdman.Biz, Premier League side Brighton recently announced an agreement with AIK for the transfer of the highly rated youngster. Johanna has signed a contract with the English club until the summer of 2031.
The official transfer fee has not been disclosed, although European media have estimated the deal at anywhere between £21.5 million and €28 million including bonuses. It is the biggest transfer in AIK's history and a striking example of how quickly a footballer's career can change. Not long ago Johanna was playing for Ikon Allah FC in Nigeria, and now he is preparing for life in one of the strongest leagues in the world.
There is also an Azerbaijani connection to this remarkable story. One of the people who worked with Johanna and helped him on his journey from Nigeria to Europe was former Azerbaijan international Anatoly Ponomarev, co-founder of football agency Abberton Sports.
Swedish media describe him as one of the player's advisers and report that it was Ponomarev, together with Alagie Sosseh, who first spotted the talented winger at a scouting tournament in Nigeria. Johanna later joined AIK, quickly established himself in the Swedish league and attracted interest from some of Europe's biggest clubs.
İdman.Biz spoke exclusively with Anatoly Ponomarev about how Zadok Johanna was discovered, why Brighton won the race for his signature, how the former Azerbaijan international became part of one of this summer's biggest transfer stories, and what Azerbaijani football needs to take the next step.
- Let's start from the beginning. How did you discover Zadok Johanna?
- Our company, Abberton Sports, organizes scouting tournaments in Nigeria for European clubs. The country's population is around 200 million, and football is by far the most popular sport there. An enormous number of children play the game, so the pool of young talent is incredibly deep.
These tournaments feature academy players between the ages of 16 and 19, while invited scouts from European clubs come to watch them. At one of these tournaments, representatives of AIK, one of Sweden's biggest clubs, spotted Zadok and eventually signed him from his academy for €300,000. He joined the Swedish club last summer. During his first two months he played for the U-19 team before being promoted to the senior squad.
Since then, he has made 13 appearances in the Swedish league and attracted interest from numerous European clubs. We held talks with Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Manchester United, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and several others. In the end, we chose Brighton, who paid €28 million.
By the way, it became the biggest transfer in Scandinavian football history. We also received our share of the deal because we continue to represent Johanna's interests.
- Why did you choose Brighton?
- Brighton have an excellent track record of developing young players and giving them the opportunity to reach the highest level. We believe this is the best environment for Johanna to become a major star. In addition, Brighton's head coach was very keen to bring him to the club, and that also played an important role in our decision.
- Is your company responsible for inviting academy players to these scouting tournaments in Nigeria?
- Yes. We invite players from different academies as well as representatives of European clubs. We cover the travel and accommodation expenses for the invited scouts. Overall, around 500 young footballers take part in our scouting tournaments.
I remember Johanna playing in a pair of old, worn-out boots that were actually too big for him because he simply didn't have another pair. He grew up in a very poor neighbourhood. He joined his academy when he was 12 years old, and during all the years he spent there he never managed to visit his mother because he couldn't afford the journey home.
- Who was the first to recognize his talent?
- You could see it immediately – the way he ran, the way he handled the ball. He was an exceptionally gifted player. We quickly realized he had the potential for a very big future.
- Do you specialize exclusively in Nigeria?
- For now, our main focus is Nigeria, but in the near future we also plan to organize scouting tournaments in Liberia and Ghana.
So far, we have held two tournaments in Nigeria, and four young players have earned contracts with European clubs as a result. Besides Zadok Johanna, who joined AIK, we were involved in the transfers of three other Nigerian footballers. They continued their careers at Romanian clubs Universitatea Cluj and Argeș, as well as Greek side AEK Athens.
- So your company is only just getting started...
- Yes, we are still at the beginning of our journey, but we've already managed to set a transfer record in Scandinavian football (laughs). I hope that one day representatives of Azerbaijani clubs will join us at these scouting tournaments.
- Before we move on to Azerbaijan, I'd like to ask about something else. Back in 2020, you said you had grown tired of working as a football agent. Why did you make that decision, and what brought you back to football?
- I grew up in football. First my father, Igor Ponomarev, played professionally. He won Olympic gold with the Soviet Union in Seoul in 1988 and is now the sporting director of Sabah. Then I became a footballer myself, and after retiring I started working as an agent.
At one point I wanted to try something completely different. I spent some time working in real estate in Spain, but in 2024 I finally realized that football is where I truly belong. My family and I moved back from Spain to Sweden, and I basically had to start from scratch. I asked myself where I could make the biggest impact. The answer was obvious – football. That's why I returned to the agency business.
- Given your connection with Azerbaijan, have you ever considered organizing scouting tournaments there as well?
- The reality is that Africa has become one of the main destinations for European clubs because of the incredible number of talented young players. That's why we have to work in countries where clubs are willing to send their scouts.
- What needs to happen for companies like yours to start paying attention to Azerbaijan?
- Azerbaijan needs its own success story – a young player being sold to a major European club. Just look at how many stars come out of African countries. I'm not even talking about Brazil or Argentina. Unfortunately, Azerbaijani football doesn't yet have that kind of story or reputation.
I sincerely hope Azerbaijan will soon produce such a football story. Until that happens, it will be difficult to convince European clubs to attend scouting events here.
- Do you invite promising Azerbaijani players for trials?
- Yes. Last year, for example, we invited Sabah midfielder Shahin Ibrahimov, who is also part of Azerbaijan's U-20 national team, for a trial with AIK.
One challenge is that Azerbaijan is not a member of the European Union. That creates additional financial costs for clubs. A player from Azerbaijan, or any other non-EU country, has to be significantly better than local players for a club to justify investing in him.
Nigerian players don't have EU passports either, but Swedish clubs already have experience working with them. They understand their mentality and know that African players often develop into top professionals who can later be sold for a significant profit.
- What happened with Shahin Ibrahimov in the end?
- AIK liked him, but last year they still had some doubts, so the club decided to postpone the transfer. If Shahin had come for a trial this year, I think they would have signed him because he has improved enormously over the past 12 months. I believe he will establish himself in Azerbaijan first, and then we'll be able to help him move to a good club abroad.
- What does Azerbaijan need to do to produce players capable of succeeding at Europe's biggest clubs?
- I think Morocco is a great example to follow. The King built a huge national football centre for teams of different age groups. Players live and develop there in outstanding conditions.
Most importantly, Morocco brought in top-quality coaches to work with young footballers. High-level coaching at youth level is what eventually produces results at senior level.
- Your father's club completed a golden double last season by winning both the Azerbaijan Premier League and the Azerbaijan Cup. How would you assess Sabah's success?
- It's fantastic! The club has done an incredible amount of work to achieve those results. I hope this is only the beginning and that Sabah will continue to challenge Qarabag. Personally, I wasn't surprised by their triumph. I know how much effort went into building this success and how hard everyone at the club worked to make it happen.
- I assume you congratulated your father immediately?
- Of course (laughs). I congratulated everyone, from the club's management to the coaching staff.
- Can Sabah defend their league title next season?
- I don't think it will be easy. On the contrary, next season will be even more difficult because the competition is getting stronger. Neftchi have improved, Turan Tovuz have also shown great progress, and, of course, you can never overlook Qarabag.
- What do you expect from Sabah in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers? Can they reach the league stage?
- It's very difficult to predict. We can only hope luck will be on their side and they'll make it to the league stage. It's always much more exciting for supporters when their club is competing in the main phase of a European tournament.
- What did you think of Qarabag's UEFA Champions League campaign last season?
- Qarabag had an outstanding Champions League campaign. It's just a pity that the final match against Newcastle didn't go their way. In my opinion, the team experienced a slight dip in form at that stage of the season. That happens to every club during a long campaign.
- Do you watch Azerbaijan's national team?
- To be honest, I haven't had much time recently. We have to follow the players we already represent and keep an eye on those we would like to sign. That doesn't leave much free time.
- Azerbaijan played two friendlies in June, losing 2-0 to Malta before beating San Marino 2-1. How would you assess those results?
- It's difficult to draw any serious conclusions. If the opponents had been England or Portugal, then perhaps we could analyse the performances. But we're talking about Malta and San Marino, so I can't really say anything positive or negative. Hopefully one day I'll have the opportunity to speak about Azerbaijan after strong performances against top-class opposition.
- Have you been following the World Cup?
- Yes, absolutely.
- I suppose there's no point asking who you supported at the start of the tournament...
- Naturally, I was supporting Sweden. At the same time, I believe Norway are capable of producing a major surprise because they have a very strong team. It's just unfortunate that the matches are played so late at night. The next day is completely ruined because of it.
I remember the 1994 World Cup, when I was 12 years old and the tournament was also held in the United States. Back then, the matches were shown on television during the day as recorded broadcasts. There was no internet, so people couldn't instantly find out the results like they can now.
Today we live in a completely different world. All you have to do is pick up your phone and you immediately know the score and can watch every goal.
Before this World Cup, people in Sweden even collected signatures asking for the country's time zone to be moved seven hours backwards so fans could watch the matches more comfortably (laughs). Around 200,000 people signed the petition, but, of course, the clocks stayed the same. Maybe if Sweden had reached the final, they would have changed the time after all (smiles).
- Your prediction: who will win the World Cup?
- I think the final will be between France and Argentina, and in the end France will lift the trophy.
