Who is Victor Osimhen? Napoli's next €100m Premier League star

24 Oct 2021 16:39 BST
5 min read

Victor Osimhen, Napoli v Cagliari, 2021-22 — © ProShots

Victor Osimhen exploded at the start of the 2021-22 season for Napoli with six goals in four games in September to take his club to the top of Serie A.

So what do we know about the Nigerian striker?

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What position does Victor Osimhen play in?

Osimhen is a central striker who plays as a lone frontman for Napoli in Luciano Spalletti’s 4-2-3-1 formation.

He has also played in a 4-3-3 under previous Napoli manager Rino Gattuso. He is a traditional number 9.

How good is Victor Osimhen?

Despite his young age, Osimhen is already regarded as one of the most exciting number 9’s in Europe.

Indeed, following the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku to the Premier League in the summer of 2021, Osimhen soon became considered as the best striker in Serie A.

This was confirmed following an explosive start to the 2021-22 season, during which Osimhen scored nine goals in 10 games in all competitions as Napoli won their first eight league games of the season to go top.

Osimhen is both a modern and traditional number 9. Despite being slender in build, he is an incredibly impressive physical specimen. He boasts lightning pace and acceleration, and exceptional strength and power. His workrate and stamina is also excellent.

We keep going💙🤍⚽️ @sscnapoli pic.twitter.com/Zo7Alsza5s
— victor osimhen (@victorosimhen9) September 26, 2021

The Nigerian is able to play with both his back to goal and on the edge of the offside trap. He is just as capable of holding the ball up and bringing others into play as he is with making intelligent runs behind the defence to get onto the end of through balls.

His movement inside the box is also excellent, as is his ability to find half a yard of space for a shot.

Standing at 6ft 1in, Osimhen is superb in the air and has a fantastic leap on him.

In terms of areas for improvement, Osimhen’s finishing is still not quite clinical enough. He can sometimes snatch at chances.

His temperament has also been a problem at times and he was sent off during Napoli’s first game of the 2021-22 season for striking an opponent in the face.

Off the pitch, he also caused controversy by breaking coronavirus protocol during a trip back to Nigeria during Christmas 2020.

👏😍

💙 #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/ieBEohNKOJ
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) September 23, 2021

However, given his young age, there is plenty of time to improve in these respects.

He already has impressive experience for his age, having played in the Bundesliga for Wolfsburg, starring in Ligue 1 for Lille and now in Serie A.

Napoli signed Osimhen for a club record €70 million in the summer of 2020. His first season at the club was punctuated by injuries but it was clear that he was a player who would exploded sooner or later. And that is what happened at the start of the 2021-22 campaign.

Osimhen made his Nigeria debut in 2017 and already has an impressive goal return for the Super Eagles.

What clubs are interested in Victor Osimhen?

Osimhen is understood to have been watched by a number of top Premier League clubs over the last year, including Man Utd and Tottenham.

The Nigerian seems tailor-made for the Premier League, while his idol growing up was Chelsea legend Didier Drogba.

According to AS, both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have added Osimhen to their shortlist to replace Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski in 2022, respectively.

Given the prices of some of the transfers in the summer of 2021, a future move to the Premier League or elsewhere for over €100m seems very possible for Osimhen.