Victor Osimhen

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Victor Osimhen
File:Victor Osimhen (LOSC) (cropped).jpg
Osimhen with Lille in 2019
Personal information
Full name Victor James Osimhen[1]
Date of birth (1998-12-29) 29 December 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Napoli
Number 9
Youth career
Ultimate Strikers Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 VfL Wolfsburg 14 (0)
2018–2019 → Charleroi (loan) 25 (12)
2019 Charleroi 0 (0)
2019–2020 Lille 27 (13)
2020– Napoli 57 (27)
International career‡
2015 Nigeria U17 7 (10)
2015–2019 Nigeria U23 4 (3)
2017– Nigeria 22 (15)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:52, 16 October 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 June 2022

Victor James Osimhen (born 29 December 1998) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Napoli and the Nigeria national team.

Born in Nigeria, Osimhen began his senior career in Germany at VfL Wolfsburg in 2017. Following a season and a half at the club, he moved to Belgian side Charleroi on loan in 2018–19, before moving to France at Lille. In 2020, Osimhen transferred to Serie A club Napoli for a club-record fee of €70 million. He won the Serie A Best Young Player award in the 2021–22 season.

Osimhen won the Golden Boot award at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which Nigeria won. He made his senior international debut in June 2017 and played at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Early life

Osimhen was born in Lagos to parents from Edo State. Growing up, his footballing idol was Didier Drogba.[2]

Club career

Osimhen started his career at the Ultimate Strikers Academy, based in Lagos, Nigeria. In January 2016, after being noticed for his performances at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, Osimhen committed to a pre-contract with VfL Wolfsburg, stipulating that he would officially join the club in January 2017.[3][4][5][6]

VfL Wolfsburg

On 5 January 2017, Osimhen officially signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the club, lasting until June 2020.[7][8] Out with an injury upon his arrival,[9] On 13 May, Osimhen made his Bundesliga debut for Wolfsburg, coming on as a substitute in the 59th minute in a 1–1 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach.[10] Osimhen also came on the following week in a pivotal relegation tie against Hamburger SV, on what was the final match day of the 2016–17 season. He replaced defender Sebastian Jung with the score tied 1–1, and Hamburg scored a late winner to pass Wolfsburg in the table, sending Wolfsburg to a relegation playoff with Eintracht Braunschweig. Osimhen was in the squad for both matches, receiving a cameo at the end of the second leg with Wolfsburg's participation in the next Bundesliga confirmed, as they won 2–0 on aggregate.

Osimhen was named in 12 of the 17 matchday squads in the first half of the 2017–18 season, appearing in 5 games. He earned his full Bundesliga debut on 28 January 2018 against Hannover, playing the full 90 minutes in their 1–0 win.[11] Osimhen made two more starts the rest of the campaign, playing the full match against Werder Bremen on 11 February and being replaced at the half by Daniel Didavi against Hertha Berlin on 31 March. Wolfsburg were again in the relegation playoff, but Osimhen missed out through injury. He also appeared in one game of Wolfsburg's DFB Pokal campaign, replacing midfielder Josuha Guilavogui for the last ten minutes of their 1–0 defeat to Schalke in the quarter-final. Osimhen underwent shoulder surgery on 2 May, ending his season with 12 appearances in the Bundesliga to his name.[12]

Charleroi

Osimhen had summer trials with Belgian clubs Zulte Waregem and Club Brugge, who were the reigning champions. However, a summer bout with malaria had affected his physical condition, and neither club decided to take him on loan.[13] On 22 August 2018, Osimhen joined Belgian club Charleroi on a season-long loan deal, having failed to score in any of his 16 appearances with Wolfsburg.[14] He replaced the departed Kaveh Rezaei, who was sold to Club Brugge after scoring 3 goals in the first three games of the season.[15] Osimhen made his debut on 1 September against Excel Mouscron, entering as a late substitute for Jérémy Perbet. Osimhen made his full debut on 22 September, scoring his first goal as a professional with a backheel against Waasland-Beveren.[16] Waasland-Beveren would equalise against 10-man Charleroi, and Perbet would later get sent off in the game as well, aiding manager Felice Mazzu's selection up top. Osimhen would start with Adama Niane for the next four games, scoring the club's only goal in losses to Cercle Brugge and Gent. He also scored twice in the last five minutes in a 3–2 win over Zulte Waregem on 21 October, after Hamdi Harbaoui had given Waregem a 2–1 lead with a second half brace.[17] Osimhen was not dropped from the side until 25 November, when he scored a goal off the bench in the club's 4–2 win over Lokeren. After the game, Osimhen told BBC Sport that he had "found his happiness again".[18] Osimhen finished the first half with 8 goals in 16 games, second only to Cristian Benavente in the team.

After a successful spell with the Belgian side, playing 36 games and scoring 20 goals, Charleroi activated their option to acquire Osimhen following his satisfactory performances while on loan.[19]

Lille

In July 2019, Osimhen signed for Lille OSC.[20][21] On 11 August 2019, he made his Ligue 1 debut for the club, scoring a brace in a 2–1 win against Nantes.[22]

Osimhen was named the Ligue 1 Player of the Month for September 2019, having scored two goals and assisted two more in Lille's five league matches.[23] On 2 June 2020, he was awarded Lille's Player of the Season, having secured the highest number of votes from fans.[24]

Osimhen scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League on 2 October 2019, coming in a 1–2 home defeat to English side Chelsea.[25] The Nigerian finished the season as Lille's top scorer, with 13 goals in 25 Ligue 1 matches, and 18 goals across all competitions.[26] His strong goalscoring performances saw Osimhen tipped by many to be in running for the African Footballer of the Year award in the near future.[27]

Napoli

On 31 July 2020, Serie A club Napoli announced the signing of Osimhen,[28] for a club-record fee of €70 million potentially rising to €80 million with add-ons, making him the most expensive African transfer to date.[29]

On 17 October 2020, Osimhen scored his first goal for Napoli in a 4–1 win against Atalanta. Upon scoring, he held up a shirt calling for the ending of the ongoing police brutality in his home country of Nigeria.[30]

On 13 November 2020, during an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game played whilst on international break with Nigeria, Osimhen was stretchered off injured.[31] This was then diagnosed as a shoulder injury that would keep Osimhen away from the playing field for two months.

While recovering from the injury, Osimhen was authorized by his club to spend time in his home country, where he got a chance to celebrate his birthday. It was during these birthday celebrations that it is believed Osimhen contracted the COVID-19 virus, as he tested positive upon returning to Naples.[32] This positive test, together with his shoulder injury, kept Osimhen away from action until his return to the side on 29 January 2021, when he was subbed on for around twenty minutes of Napoli's Coppa Italia win against Spezia.[33]

International career

Osimhen was a member of the Nigeria under-17 team that won the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.[34] He scored 10 goals in seven games at the tournament and won the Golden Boot and Silver Ball awards.[35] His performances also earned him the CAF Youth Player of the Year award in 2015.[36]

Osimhen made his senior debut for Nigeria in a 2–0 defeat against South Africa on 10 June 2017.[37] He missed out on Nigeria's 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign after his inconsistent season at Wolfsburg.[16] Following a successful start to his loan spell at Charleroi, he was recalled by Gernot Rohr for the November 2018 international break,[38] starting their friendly win over Uganda.[18]

In March 2019, Osimhen was released from the Super Eagles squad to represent the Nigerian U23 side as they were two goals down against their Libyan opponent. He scored three goals in the return match against Libya in Asaba.[39]

Osimhen was listed in coach Gernot Rohr's 25-man provisional list for 2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt[40] and was further listed in the final list for the tournament.[41][42] In the match for third place, he replaced the injured Odion Ighalo at half-time in the team's 1–0 victory over Tunisia.[43] He played a total of 45 mins at the tournament.[44]

The Super Eagles ended the 2021 AFCON qualifiers on a high, beating Lesotho 3–0.[45] However, Osimhen missed the African Cup of Nations supposedly due to COVID‑19 as claimed by his club. This claim provoked a response from a sport lawyer in Nigeria who wrote to express his dismay to the alleged intention of Osimhen's club side, SSC Napoli to deprive Nigeria the services of their star striker.[46]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 16 October 2022 [47]
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
VfL Wolfsburg 2016–17 Bundesliga 2 0 0 0 — — 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 3 0
2017–18 12 0 1 0 — — — 13 0
Total 14 0 1 0 — — 1 0 16 0
Charleroi (loan) 2018–19 Belgian Pro League 25 12 2 1 — — 9[lower-alpha 2] 7 36 20
Lille 2019–20 Ligue 1 27 13 3 1 3 2 5[lower-alpha 3] 2 — 38 18
Napoli 2020–21 Serie A 24 10 3 0 — 3[lower-alpha 4] 0 0 0 30 10
2021–22 27 14 0 0 — 5[lower-alpha 4] 4 — 32 18
2022–23 6 3 0 0 — 2[lower-alpha 3] 1 — 8 4
Total 57 27 3 0 — 10 5 0 0 70 32
Career total 123 52 9 2 3 2 15 7 10 7 160 70

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International

As of match played 13 June 2022[37]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Nigeria 2017 1 0
2018 1 0
2019 7 4
2020 1 1
2021 8 5
2022 4 5
Total 22 15
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Osimhen goal.
List of international goals scored by Victor Osimhen
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 10 September 2019 Dnipro-Arena, Dnipro, Ukraine  Ukraine 2–0 2–2 Friendly
2 13 November 2019 Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Nigeria  Benin 1–1 2–1 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
3 17 November 2019 Setsoto Stadium, Maseru, Lesotho  Lesotho 3–1 4–2
4 4–1
5 13 November 2020 Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, Nigeria  Sierra Leone 2–0 4–4
6 30 March 2021 Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria  Lesotho 1–0 3–0
7 7 September 2021 Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena, Mindelo, Cape Verde  Cape Verde 1–1 2–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 10 October 2021 Limbe Stadium, Limbe, Cameroon  Central African Republic 2–0 2–0
9 13 November 2021 Stade Ibn Batouta, Tangier, Morocco  Liberia 1–0 2–0
10 16 November 2021 Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria  Cape Verde 1–0 1–1
11 9 June 2022 Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria  Sierra Leone 2–1 2–1 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
12 13 June 2022 Stade Adrar, Agadir, Morocco  São Tomé and Príncipe 1–0 10–0
13 4–0
14 8–0
15 9–0

Honours

Nigeria U17

Nigeria

Individual

References

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External links

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  19. ↑ Sporting Charleroi sign Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen permanently from Wolfsburg, goal.com, 31 May 2019
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