After weeks of speculations, Victor Osimhen is finally a Napoli player. The Super Eagles forward joins the Neapolitan club from Lille for 70 million euros, smashing the record transfer fee for Nigerian footballers.
The 21-year-old also becomes Napoli’s most expensive signing.
Osimhen’s move to Serie A is naturally generating plenty of interest and differing opinions in Nigeria. Some believe he could have held out for a switch to a bigger club, while others feel it is the right move for the Eagles centre forward.
Whichever way you look at it, Napoli represents a step up in his career. And with that transfer fee, there will be some pressure on him to deliver the goods in Naples.
So will Osimhen justify Napoli’s faith? We look at some of the reasons why we believe he will be a success in Italy.
Osimhen is a natural goal-scorer
With the exception of an unremarkable stint at Wolfsburg, Osimhen has banged in the goals all through his fledgling career. The forward scored a tournament record 10 goals at the 2015 under-17 World Cup in Chile, propelling Nigeria to their fifth world title.
His exploits in Chile earned him a move to Wolfsburg, but he never really settled in Germany, failing to find the net in any of his 14 appearances. Osimhen rediscovered his scoring touch in Belgium, scoring 20 goals in 36 matches for Charleroi, before firing 18 in 38 in his debut season at Lille. He has also scored 4 goals in nine matches for the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
There is a gaping hole at Napoli
With Arkadiusz Milik set to leave Napoli before the closure of the current transfer window, Osimhen walks into a Napoli side that can do with a centre forward, a proper target man, a finisher. Indeed, that’s why they have gone on and spent all that money!
Napoli struggled for goals last season, with Milik being their top scorer on 11 goals. No one else entered double figures. Dries Mertens contributed nine strikes while Lorenzo Insigne had eight. The club managed only 61 league goals last season, the worst tally in the top 8.
Osimhen is the sort of player to fix that problem. With creative players like Insigne and Fabian Ruiz buzzing around the centre forward, Napoli will create lots of chances, and the Nigerian striker is good enough to convert the opportunities into goals.
You may want to take a chance on Osimhen becoming top scorer in Serie A next season! The odds are pretty good on betting sites in Nigeria like 1xBet.
Expectations are fairly moderate at Napoli
Having under-achieved last season, Napoli’s expectations for the 2020/2021 campaign are pretty manageable. There is also the feeling that the club is still in transition under manager Gennaro Gattuso. No one is expecting Osimhen to go in there and fire them to the Scudetto. In fact, Napoli are 20.0 outsiders on 1xBet to win the league next season.
Yes, they lifted the Coppa Italia during the last campaign, but they finished way down in seventh in Serie A, and fell to Barcelona in the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League. There is plenty of room for improvement.
Napoli’s minimum target for next season will be get back into the Champions League positions and make a deep run in the Europa League, both very achievable.
Nothing is ever guaranteed in life, but it all looks set up for Victor Osimhen to become a big hit in Italy.
