Ex-England player Danny Mills has explained why Nigerian legend Austin Jay Jay Okocha never made the move to teams like Manchester United or Arsenal.

During his playing days, Okocha played in the Premier League, making waves at Bolton before moving to Hull City and was known for his dribbling skills.

Before landing a then-record £14 million transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 1998, Okocha, who is regarded as one of the most technically talented players in African football history, starred at Eintracht Frankfurt and Fenerbahçe.

He was also linked to top clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal, two English giants, during the height of his career.

What Mills said about Okocha

Although Okocha was incredibly skilled, Mills acknowledged that his unpredictability might have deterred top Premier League clubs from chasing him.

“He had so much quality, but he was unpredictable in the same way,” Mills told Complete Sports. “He was almost impossible, you know, he would feign to go one way and then just drop it through your legs. So, you know, you had to be right at it.

“You know, you couldn’t give him any time, any space, because he would see a pass, pick a pass that probably no one else on the football pitch would see at that point.

“And of course, that made him incredibly difficult to play against – to mark. Can you imagine if he’d been in an Arsenal or at Man United of that time, you know, rather than Bolton, he could have been even better, you know, because, you know, better players. How he wasn’t at one of those clubs [Arsenal, Man United, etc.], I’m not quite sure.”

“Maybe the fact that he was so maverick and was such an individual – maybe some of the top clubs looked at that and thought, ‘how do we accommodate him into a team?’ But yeah, Jay-Jay Okocha was absolutely sensational,” he added.