Marco Silva, a 47-year-old football manager, is probably not the target audience for Alex Iwobi’s music. But at Fulham they are all dancing to the same beat these days and when Iwobi’s latest single was played through the speakers at the club’s training ground, Silva was soon nodding along with the rest of the players.

“The first time he heard What’s Luv? he was just vibing, [asking] ‘Is this Alex?!’” Iwobi says with a laugh. “He said it was not bad. I know the first time hearing it in the gym he did not understand what was being said, but he enjoyed the beat.”

It does not take long in conversation with Iwobi to realise that this is a footballer – and, indeed, a musician – who actively seeks enjoyment in life. He has certainly found it on the pitch, where he is in perhaps the best season of his career, and also away from the sport. Under the name of “17” (also his squad number at Fulham) Iwobi has now released two rap singles this year.

“I am not just a footballer,” he says. “I have always had that mindset, but it is only recently that I have been expressing myself a lot more. Players normally do well when they are confident and with me, feeling confident to express myself on and off the pitch, I almost feel unstoppable.”

‘It’s nice to show I am human’

As ever, there will be some miserable supporters who believe Iwobi should stick to his day job. Such a view fails to appreciate that the 28-year-old’s off-field passions, which go far beyond music, are evidently a significant reason for his success this season. “When I am happy off the pitch, I am able to play my best football,” he says.

One of those passions is for his community, and this weekend Iwobi will be feeding 100 families in Canning Town. On Sunday, the day after Fulham’s trip to Liverpool, he and his team are transforming a local shop into “AleXpress”, a supermarket where everything is free for families in need.

“Canning Town is where I grew up,” he says. “It’s the perfect place to give back. I am probably going to be tired after playing against Liverpool – it is going to be an intense game – but whether I get cramp or I have no hamstrings, I will be there. It’s nice to show I am human. I am the same as everyone else.

“Even if I didn’t become a footballer, it was always something I was eager to do. In the house I was raised in, my dad naturally just gave back. To people in Nigeria, to his family. Even people in the street, he would just buy bottles of water for them and for our neighbours. It has always inspired me and, with the position I am in, I feel like it is only right that I give back.”

‘Football has similarities with fashion and music’

Iwobi, clearly, has been fortunate enough to be surrounded by good role models in his life. Not only his parents, but also his maternal uncle, Jay-Jay Okocha. The Nigeria and Bolton Wanderers legend was known for his sense of freedom and joy on the pitch, and Iwobi is now taking the same approach.

“He always told me to express myself and play with a smile on my face,” says Iwobi. “It worked for him. You could tell by the way he played. It showed me that being yourself, being who you are, you get accepted. Even playing for Sam Allardyce, who was not really known for [selecting] players like Jay-Jay, he was able to be one of the crucial players.”

Iwobi’s expressiveness extends to the red streaks in his hair (“I literally told the hairdresser, ‘Express yourself.’”) and also to the worlds of fashion and art. He has been attending Paris Fashion Week in recent years and has a keen interest in how clothes are designed and made.

“I was going to art galleries to see what the artist thinks when they are painting, what goes through their minds,” he says. “It’s the same with football. If you like to create stuff on the pitch with a skill, a through ball or a set-piece, that can also be seen as a piece of art. I like to see what goes through the minds of musicians and people in the fashion world because there are similarities with footballers.”

‘At Fulham, there are no egos’

Iwobi, who came through Arsenal’s academy and then spent four years at Everton, is keen to stress that Fulham remains his top priority. For now, at this busy time of year, his music career is on hold. Not least because Craven Cottage is such an exciting place to be: after 15 games in the Premier League, Silva’s side are only four points off fourth place.

The secret to their success? Togetherness. “At Arsenal and Everton, I have always been part of one big family,” says Iwobi. “With Fulham, the main thing is that there are no egos. Everyone treats each other the same way. There are no stars. Everyone is making sure that we’re not just friends and family at training, but outside the training ground as well.

“Everyone plays a part. When Sander [Berge] and Joachim [Andersen] signed, they took us out to eat. We have had a lot of meals in London and we organised a trip to Paris to clear our heads. We feel like we are ready to fly and we can do anything together.

“We have a meal planned next week – the gaffer wants to take us out. That’s another bit of free food, so I’m not complaining! Everyone’s taking care of each other.”

For Iwobi, who endured difficult spells at both Everton and Arsenal, it seems clear that such an environment has allowed him to thrive, and to openly embrace his passions away from the sport. As a footballer and a person, he is all the better and happier for it.