A killing machine. It is the first, spontaneous response of a loyal Lille fan when he hears the name of Victor Osimhen. A killing machine. The mask does not hide the face of an outlaw; it only protects the face of those who had to be operated on for multiple fractures. And not because of a fight or a settling of accounts, but in a clash of heads with Milan Škriniar, defender, to be exact, of Inter Milan.
A killing machine. Goal scoring striker metaphor. The image suggested by Osimhen, a Nigerian footballer from 23 years (born in Lagos on December 29, 1998) and for whom Napoli invested 70 million euros in the summer of 2020, after only a season at Lille, who in turn had signed him after a campaign in Charleroi from Belgium, a club that bet on him when he was at Wolfsburg in Germany, who caught him in their nets at the end of the U-17 World Cup held in Chile in November 2015. In that event, Osimhen was the tournament’s top scorer (10 goals in 7 games, the second, the German Johannes Eggestein only scored four) and therefore Golden Boot, and won the Silver Ball to the second best player. Nigeria was champion.
Charleroi paid 3.5 million, Lille went up to 20 the following year and Napoli paid 70 a season later.
ascending price
The rising price of Osimhen has been in line with the football progression exhibited. Charleroi paid 3.5 million to Wolfsburg, Lille gave 14 (it was 20 at the end with variables) and Naples gave the mentioned 70 million up front. star price. From a franchise player, at least.
“He has a lot of goals,” they say of Osimhen. Enough. It is the most precious quality of any striker. And he has more things: “He likes to attack the spaces and move in depth, but he also has the ability to be a box nine,” Christophe Galtier, his former coach at Lille, warned. “He is capable of organizing all the high pressure of the team. He does the work of two or three players,” says another coach who followed him in the French league. Maybe that’s why he only plays up front at Spalletti’s Napoli.
“He likes to attack the spaces and move in depth, but he also has the ability to be an area nine”
Christophe Galtier / Former Lille manager
But he still shows some flaws despite being compared to Etoo for his speed to finish and Lukaku for outpowering defenders. “He has infinite potential. Sometimes he is going to do a one against eleven because he does not realize that the team does not follow him, but he is learning, “said his coach.
“He has infinite potential. Sometimes he goes one against eleven because he doesn’t realize that the team isn’t following him, but he’s learning”
Luciano Spalletti / Manager of Napoli
the same average
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He signed for Napoli for five seasons, until 2025. He has turned two. A novelty, he has not passed one in his previous clubs. In Italy he is dealing with problems, which have not been few, but he maintains the scoring average that he exhibited in Belgium (20 goals in 36 games), in France (18 in 38). He has scored 16 in 39 games. In November he suffered the terrible clash with Škriniar.
The medical report described “Multiple chipped fractures to a cheekbone and eye socket.” Osimhen’s face was a poem, swollen and disfigured, his eye out of place. He underwent surgery and had six plates and screws placed. The surgeon who operated on him ruled him out for the African Cup this January. But what separated him from the tournament was the positive for coronavirus of the beginning of the month. Muscular discomfort will not prevent him from playing at the Camp Nou.