Victor Osimhen attracts the attention of European giants. Will he shoot Naples to the title?

Victor Osimhen didn’t have an ideal start to his Naples engagement, the reason being a shoulder injury and all the problems associated with the coronavirus pandemic. But now he is playing very well and it is becoming clear why the Italian club paid 70 million euros for him.

Napoli started Thursday’s Europa League match well, leading 1:0 in the first minute. But then Ruiz was sent off and the weakened Italian side eventually lost to Spartak Moscow 2: 3. Fans can at least be pleased with the good form of the 22-year-old striker Osimhen, who scored in his 5th game in a row.

The Nigerian goalscorer has scored for the 7th time in 7 games this season. After three games this season, his goal tally was at zero, which was greatly influenced by a red card in the first round of Serie A. However, this did not stop him.

The turning point for him was the clash with Leicester in the Europa League. The Foxes were leading Napoli 2:0 after 65 minutes at their home stadium before Osimhen scored two goals to give his side at least a point.

“Napoli paid 70 million for him and you can see why. He has tremendous quality and today he proved it with 2 goals,” Leicester coach Brendan Rodgers said after the game.

Osimhen, who joined Napoli in 2020 from Lille, did not stay at one good game. He carried his form into the Italian league and scored against Udinese, downed Sampdoria with two goals and then secured victory against Cagliari, scoring one goal and assisting the other with a penalty.

His great performance helped his team to climb back to the top of the league, and Naples is still 100% after 6 rounds. The Nigerian striker confirmed not only his great eye for goal, but especially his eye for important goals – in all 3 matches it was him who scored the winning goal.

Of his 7 goals this year, 6 of them came when his team was tied or losing. Such performances were surely expected by the Napoli management when they made him the most expensive player in the club’s history.

The performances of the 22-year-old Osimhen, who managed to score 10 goals in 24 games last season despite the aforementioned shoulder problems and pandemonium, do not go unnoticed.

” When I came to Italy 2 years ago, I didn’t know him very well. I found out that he is a fantastic player with great movement,” says the former Chelsea and Napoli player. “He is very strong, but at the same time fast. This is a devastating combination for the opponent. He reminds me of Romelu Lukaku.”

Lukaku, a Belgian tank, helped Inter to win the Scudetto last season. Can Osimhen do something like that in Naples? Fans in Italy’s 3rd largest city have been waiting for a Serie A title since 1990, when Diego Maradona was still rampaging in the azure jersey.

The team has come very close several times in recent years, but it has always resulted in only a 2nd place finish behind the dominant Juventus. Not even players like Edinson Cavani, Gonzalo Higuaín or Marek Hamsik, who spent 12 years at the club, could help Napoli win the title.

This season, apart from Osimhen’s current form, their great start to the season is playing into their hands, but also the poor form of Juventus or the situation of Inter, who lost Lukaku and Hakimi, for example.

“Victor Osimhen can help Napoli achieve great success,” another former player Bruno Giordano is clear. “He is still young and has the chance to leave a big mark on the club and on Italian football as a whole.”

Not surprisingly, given their form, Luciano Spalletti’s charges are among the favourites for the league title. They could even challenge for the Europa League. Whether they achieve their dream success or not, if Osimhen continues his current performances, Napoli will have to do their best to keep him in the squad.

Indeed, speculation is already beginning to surface that European big clubs are circling around the young Nigerian. Real Madrid are said to see Osimhen as a plan B if Mbappé’s arrival doesn’t work out. The two Manchester clubs are also reportedly not left behind.

But whoever wants to sign him will certainly not have it easy. The price tag of the sought-after striker is expected to be around €120 million, and Napoli are also speculated to offer him a new contract.

Whatever the outcome with Osimhen, one thing is clear – it will be very interesting to watch Napoli this season and in the next summer transfer window.

Source: Goal, Pulse