Victor Osimhen is a Nigerian pro footballer who currently plays for SSC Napoli in the Italian Serie A. He plays the center forward for both his club and country.
Moreover, he is one of the best strikers in the world currently. He is famous for his aerial ability, athleticism, agility, and lethal finishing.
Here Are The Major Things in the life of Napoli Born-Nigerian Forward, Victor Osimhen;
Early Life
Victor James Osimhen was born in the Ojota/Oregun area of Lagos State on the 29th of December, 1998 into a family of 10. He is the last born of 7 siblings. His parents are from Edo State. He lost his mother at a very young age and lost his father 3 months later. Growing up was tough for Victor, as his parents could only afford to stay in a makeshift house prohibited by the Lagos State government.
Moreover, the house was beside the popular Olusosun dumpsite. The 100-acre Olusosun refuse site reportedly gets nearly 10 thousand tons of refuse on a daily.
Furthermore, the poverty and fear of being evicted by the Lagos State Government made him start selling sachet water in traffic as he kept his focus on football. He joined the youth side, Ultimate Strikers Academy.
He didn’t get money from playing football at the time, but that didn’t matter to Osimhen as he enjoyably combined it with his sachet water business.
Under 17
He caught the attention of the scouts in the U-17 football national team of Nigeria and was invited for selection for the 2015 U-17 FIFA tournament in Chile. Osimhen was stunned by the crowd of players he met at the camp. He met thousands of players at the camp in Abuja during screening.
At the screening, he was handed a 15-minute try which he grabbed by scoring two goals. Osimhen thought he didn’t do well enough and was already on his way back to Lagos in his mind. However, he caught the attention of the team doctor and he recommended him to Amunike (U-17 Coach) and was asked to come to training the next day.
A happy Osimhen came with fire the next day and the coach fell in love with him. Therefore, he was picked to represent the country at the tournament in Chile.
He announced himself to the world at the tournament by scoring a record-breaking 10 goals which made him the highest goalscorer ever in the tournament. He led the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria to their 5th U-17 World Cup, a record. As a result, he was awarded the Golden Boot and 2nd Best Player in the tournament.
Osimhen was recognized as the CAF Player of The Year in 2015.
Club Career
After he showed his footballing talent to the world at the U-17 tournament, he signed a pre-contract agreement with the German side, VfL Wolfsburg. He would officially join the German side in January 2017. On the 5th of January 2017, he officially signed a 3-year and a half deal with VfL Wolfsburg.
However, his stint in Germany didn’t go as planned. Although that was his first international club experience. His debut for Wolfsburg came against Borussia Monchengladbach in a 1-1 draw. He faced so many injuries at the club. As a result, he could only get 12 appearances in the German Bundesliga to his name.
Loan To Charleroi (2018-2019)
In the 2018 summer, he had trials with Belgian sides Club Brugge and Zulte Waragem. However, these two clubs didn’t take him as malaria sickness had an effect on his physical condition. On August 22nd, he got signed on a season-long loan to Belgian football club, Charleroi.
Moreover, he replaced Kaveh Rezaei at the club, who was sold to Club Brugge after his great start. Osimhen made his debut for Charleroi on the 1st of September in the match against Excel Mouscron. He made his full debut 21 days after against Waasland-Beveren, getting his first professional goal.
As a result, he started the next four games for the club, scoring the club’s solitary goal in their defeats to Gent and Cercle Brugge. The goals kept coming from the Nigerian forward and in the first half of the season, he had 8 goals in 16 appearances for the club.
Charleroi bought Victor Osimhen after his successful campaign in the season. He ended the season with 20 goals from 36 matches.
Lille
In the summer of 2019, Osimhen was signed by a French club Lille for €12 million on a 5-year contract. He was given the No. 7 jersey formerly won by current AC Milan Winger, Rafael Leao.
He scored a brace on his debut against Nantes 10 days after he was signed. 2 matchdays later, he scored another brace in a home win against Saint-Étienne. The performances he put out in these games earned him a rating of 8/10 by the French sports newspaper L’Équipe.
Furthermore, he was awarded the Ligue 1 Player of the Month for September. In addition, he gave an outstanding performance in the Uefa Champions League debut as he scored his first UCL goal in their defeat to Chelsea.
He won the 2020 prix Marc-Vivien Foe (A price given to the best African player in the French League). This made him tipped by many to be the face of African football in the near future.
At the end of the 2019-2020 season, he finished as the club’s highest goalscorer, with 13 goals in 25 domestic matches. As a result, he was awarded Lille’s Best Player of the Season.
Napoli (2020-2022)
Italian Seria A club, SSC Napoli announced the signing of Victor Osimhen. Osimhen was bouught for a record fee of €80 million including add-ons. This makes him the most expensive African footballer till date.
3 months after he was signed in July, he scored his debut goal for the club in the 4-1 victory against Atalanta. On November 13th, he suffered a shoulder injury whilst playing for his country in an AFCON qualifying game. The shoulder injury kept him from playing for 2 months.
Furthermore, his club permitted him to stay back and spend some time in his country, where he got a chance to celebrate his birthday. His club believed he contracted the COVID-19 virus during his birthday celebration on his return to Italy.
The positive test and his shoulder injury made him return to football action on the 29th of January, 2021.
At the start of the 2021-2022 season, he sustained a gruesome head injury and a fractured eye socket in his club defeat to Inter Milan. Osimhen immediately went on surgery which saw him miss the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon. After his surgery, he started wearing a protective mask ever since. He ended the season with 18 goals in all competitions for Napoli.
Serie A Title (2022-2023)
On 29 October 2022, he scored his first Serie A hat-trick in the 4-0 triumph over Sassuolo. On 11 November, he became the highest goalscorer Nigerian in the league with 32 goals. Furthermore, he scored his 100th career goal against Sassuolo on 7 February 2023. Osimhen also became the first player in the era of 3 points to score in 7 consecutive matches.
On 4 May 2023, he scored the leveler in the draw against Udinese. His goal confirmed Napoli as Serie A champions after 33 years. On the next matchday, he scored the solitary goal in the win over Florentina, becoming the highest-scoring African player in the league with 47 goals. The former record holder was George Weah during his time at AC Milan. In addition, he ended the season with 26 goals, becoming the first African player to reach this milestone.
Contract Renewal
Osimhen signed a contract extension with Napoli on 23 December 2023, having a release clause of €130 million. He scored a hat-trick against Sassuolo on 28 February 2024, therefore becoming the third player in Napoli history to score 10 goals in 4 consecutive seasons, after Diego Maradona and Attila Sallustro respectively.
International Career
He made his senior debut for the Super Eagles in the 2-nil defeat to South Africa on 10 June 2017. His inconsistent season at Wolfsburg made him miss out on Nigeria’s 2018 FIFA World Cup list. He was recalled back to the national team by Gernot Rohr following his good start during his loan spell at Charleroi and started the friendly win over Uganda.
Furthermore, he was in Nigeria’s Super Eagles team at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. He didn’t play much but he came on to replace the Injured Odion Ighalo in the match for the bronze medal at halftime.
He missed the 2021 AFCON due to the supposed COVID-19 his club claimed he contracted while he was on holiday in Nigeria. Osimhen started the 2023 AFCON qualifiers with a bang. He scored a goal against Sierra Leone and 4 in the 10-0 demolition over São Tomé and Príncipe, having his first international hat-trick for the national team.
In addition, the stricker scored his 2nd international hat-trick in the reverse fixture at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.
He was in the just concluded AFCON finals hosted by Ivory Coast. He scored in the opening game for Nigeria against Equatorial Guinea.
Style Of Play
Osimhen is a pacy right-footed striker. He is known for his commanding aerial ability, his presence, strength, and agility. His finishing is lethal and his link-up play is a threat to opposition defenses.
Furthermore, his composure in front of goal is what makes him stand out. His conversion rate as a striker is one of the best that football has today.
Personal Life
Osimhen practices the Christian religion. He loves to give and has said a couple of times that he wants to help disabled people across the African continent.
He had his first child in October 2022. Osimhen named her Haly.
Conclusion
Osimhen’s story is a reminder that you can only get success through hard work, the ability to persevere, and the determination to rise above what life throws at you or wherever you may find yourself.
This young man is a source of inspiration to every African child. In his words;
If I can make it, you can too
Victor Osimhen
