Nottingham Forest of England defender, Ola Aina has joined in accolades reeling round Super Eagles’ hitman, Victor Osimhen, who scored his 170th overall career goal on Wednesday night, after which the calm right-back rated his compatriot on the same scale with Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku.
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Sports247 reports that Osimhen, who is on loan at Galatasaray of Turkey from SSC Napoli of Italy, soared high with another towering header to hit his 30th goal in 35 matches across all competitions since arriving in Istanbul at the start of this season last August, as he helped his Super Lig club reach the Turkish Cup final in grand style.
In the wake of the encounter, which also saw Osimhen enact yet another assist in helping his team win 5-1 on the night, accolades are flying left, right and centre for the 2023 African Footballer of The Year, who was earlier this week on top of transfer news about a possible move to Manchester United of England.
Although that report has since been doused by latest information regarding The Red Devils’ uncertainty of qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League, Osimhen remains in the headlines for his daring feats, and Aina has just stopped short of naming his national team colleague the world’s best striker.
He, however, opined that Osimhen can be ranked on the same scale with Ronaldo, whose technique he hailed as second to none, and Lukaku, who Aina noted is always very tough to get the ball from because of the strength with which he plays.
Aina, who previously played in two separate stints at AS Torino of Italy, opined: “Ronaldo is in there; then maybe Victor Osimhen with Lukaku. He’s got a bit of everything. He’s not slow, he’s got technique, he can shoot, and he can give a pass.
“That’s Ronaldo, who I faced at the end of his career at Juve. Though he no longer has the tricks and flair, as he used to be, he still has body movement. He knows when to go for a goal and when to make a run. He was difficult to mark.”
Aina, who has also played for Chelsea, Hull City and Fulham of England, then gave his personal assessment of the qualities that Osimhen and Lukaku are made of.
“As for Victor Osimhen, he doesn’t give you any time to breathe. As a defender, when you have a striker running unto you relentlessly, it’s a jarring problem. It’s the same with Lukaku. You just can’t get the ball from him. You can’t get it off him because he’s too strong, bo,” Aina posited jocularly.
