Victor James Osimhen ( give birth 29 December 1998 ) is a nigerian professional football player 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 loanword 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.
Reading: Victor Osimhen – Wikipedia
early life [edit ]
Osimhen was born in Lagos to parents of Edo State lineage. Growing up, his footballing idol was Didier Drogba. [ 2 ]
Club career [edit ]
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 [edit ]
On 5 January 2017, Osimhen officially signed a three-and-a-half-year cover with the clubhouse, 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 ersatz in the 59th hour in a 1–1 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach. [ 10 ] Osimhen besides came on the following workweek in a pivotal relegation tie against Hamburger SV, on what was the concluding match day of the 2016–17 temper. 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 delegating playoff with Eintracht Braunschweig. Osimhen was in the team for both matches, receiving a cameo at the end of the second leg with Wolfsburg ‘s engagement in the future Bundesliga confirmed, as they won 2–0 on aggregate. Osimhen was named in 12 of the 17 matchday squads in the beginning half of the 2017–18 season, appearing in 5 games. He earned his wax Bundesliga debut on 28 January 2018 against Hannover, playing the full 90 minutes in their 1–0 succeed. [ 11 ] Osimhen made two more starts the rest of the campaign, playing the full equal 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 delegating playoff, but Osimhen missed out through wound. He besides appeared in one bet on of Wolfsburg ‘s DFB Pokal campaign, replacing midfielder Josuha Guilavogui for the last ten-spot minutes of their 1–0 frustration to Schalke in the quarter-final. Osimhen undergo shoulder operating room on 2 May, ending his season with 12 appearances in the Bundesliga to his appoint. [ 12 ]
charleroi [edit ]
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 forcible discipline, and neither club decided to take him on loanword. [ 13 ] On 22 August 2018, Osimhen joined belgian club Charleroi on a season-long loanword distribute, having failed to score in any of his 16 appearances with Wolfsburg. [ 14 ] He replaced the sidetrack 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 alternate for Jérémy Perbet. Osimhen made his broad debut on 22 September, scoring his inaugural goal as a professional with a backheel against Waasland-Beveren. [ 16 ] Waasland-Beveren would equalise against 10-man Charleroi, and Perbet would late get sent off in the bet on a well, aiding director Felice Mazzu ‘s choice up top. Osimhen would start with Adama Niane for the future four games, scoring the baseball club ‘s only goal in losses to Cercle Brugge and Gent. He besides scored doubly in the last five minutes 3–2 winnings over Zulte Waregem on 21 October, after Hamdi Harbaoui had given Waregem a 2–1 run with a second one-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 winnings over Lokeren. After the game, Osimhen told BBC Sport that he had “ found his happiness again ”. [ 18 ] Osimhen finished the foremost 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 lend. [ 19 ]
Lille [edit ]
In July 2019, Osimhen signed for Lille OSC. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] On 11 August 2019, he made his Ligue 1 debut for the clubhouse, scoring a brace in a 2–1 acquire 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 inaugural goal in the UEFA Champions League on 2 October 2019, coming in a 1–2 home plate 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 impregnable goalscoring performances saw Osimhen tipped by many to be in running for the African Footballer of the Year award in the dear future. [ 27 ]
naples [edit ]
On 31 July 2020, Serie A club Napoli announced the sign 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 gain against Atalanta. Upon scoring, he held up a shirt calling for the ending of the ongoing police brutality in his home area of Nigeria. [ 30 ] On 13 November 2020, during an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game played whilst on external pause with Nigeria, Osimhen was stretchered off hurt. [ 31 ] This was then diagnosed as a shoulder injury that would keep Osimhen away from the bet field for two months.
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While recovering from the injury, Osimhen was authorized by his club to spend time in his home nation, where he got a prospect 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 incontrovertible test, together with his shoulder wound, kept Osimhen away from action until his reappearance to the side on 29 January 2021, when he was subbed on for around twenty dollar bill minutes of Napoli ‘s Coppa Italia winnings against Spezia. [ 33 ]
International career [edit ]
Osimhen was named to the police squad of the Nigeria under-17 team that won the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, where Osimhen won the Golden Boot and Silver Ball awards. [ 34 ] [ 35 ] His performances besides earned him the CAF Youth Player of the Year award in 2015. [ 36 ] Osimhen made his senior introduction for Nigeria in a 3–0 friendly winnings over Togo on 1 June 2017. [ 37 ] Osimhen missed out on Nigeria ‘s 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign after his inconsistent season at Wolfsburg. [ 16 ] Following a successful beginning to his loanword spell at Charleroi, he was recalled by Gernot Rohr for the November 2018 external break, [ 38 ] starting their friendly succeed over Uganda. [ 18 ] In March 2019, Osimhen was released from the Super Eagles team to represent the nigerian U23 side as they were two goals polish against their libyan adversary. He scored three goals in the return match against Libya in Asaba. [ 39 ] Osimhen was listed in coach Gernot Rohr ‘s 25-man probationary list for 2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt [ 40 ] and was far listed in the concluding number for the tournament. [ 41 ] [ 42 ] In the match for third base topographic point, he replaced the hurt Odion Ighalo at half-time in the team ‘s 1–0 victory over Tunisia. [ 43 ] He played a entire of 45 mins at the tournament [ 44 ] On 14 August 2019, the bus of the Nigerian home team, Gernot Rohr, invited Osimhen for a friendly against Ukraine, that was played on 10 September 2019 in Dnipro Arena, Ukraine which ended in a 2–2 draw. [ 45 ] The Super Eagles ended the qualifyiers on a high, beating Lesotho 3-0. [ 46 ]
career statistics [edit ]
baseball club [edit ]
- As of match played 21 November 2021[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[a] | 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[b] | 7 | 36 | 20 | ||
| Lille | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 27 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5[c] | 2 | — | 38 | 18 | |
| Napoli | 2020–21 | Serie A | 24 | 10 | 3 | 0 | — | 3[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 10 | |
| 2021–22 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[d] | 4 | — | 14 | 9 | ||||
| Total | 35 | 15 | 3 | 0 | — | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 19 | |||
| Career total | 101 | 40 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 134 | 57 | ||
International [edit ]
- As of match played 16 November 2021[48]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 4 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 8 | 5 | |
| Total | 18 | 10 | |
- Scores and results list Nigeria’s goal tally first.
Honours [edit ]
International [edit ]
Nigeria U17
Nigeria
individual [edit ]
Awards
References [edit ]
Read more: 2015–16 Liverpool F.C. season – Wikipedia