Victor Osimhen will lead Napoli’s attack against Eintracht Frankfurt tonight in the round of 16 of the Champions League. He returned to Germany after an unsuccessful spell with Wolfsburg, ending with a move to Charleroi and then Lille thanks to the club’s director, Luis Campos.
The Nigeria international is Serie A’s top scorer this season with 18 goals in 19 appearances in the Italian top flight. He became the first Napoli player to score in seven consecutive games in the competition in an era where every win counts for three points.
Osimhen is a famous European star.
He joins Napoli in a €75m deal from Lille in Ligue 1 in 2020, but how did his European career begin?
La Gazzetta dello Sport tells about the first phase of Osimhen’s career in the old continent, starting in Germany, where Osimhen will play tonight in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Eintracht.
The Nigerian striker joined Wolfsburg from Nigeria’s Ultimate Strikers Academy in January 2017, but his first months in the country have been rather bleak, with the Bundesliga side struggling in the relegation zone and Osimhen “felt alone and isolated”.
During his launch press conference in 2017, Osimhen revealed that Arsenal, Inter and Fiorentina wanted him, but he chose Wolfsburg, because “I feel in Germany young players are given more opportunities”. He only stayed at Wolfsburg for 18 months, scoring no goals in 16 appearances. Osimhen underwent a meniscus surgery during his time in Germany and when he returned to play he contracted malaria.
Belgian team Charleroi borrowed him in the summer of 2018, in a new environment, he scored 20 goals in 36 appearances. Osimhen could have joined Zulte Waregem or Club Brugge, but both clubs decided not to sign him after his medical.
He is constantly scoring for Napoli.
As a result, Charleroi signed the promising striker for a transfer fee of 3.5 million euros, but his time in Belgium was short because then Lille director Luis Campos had already secured his signature. him for 22.4 million euros after selling Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal.
Osimhen said in an interview a few years ago, quoted by Gazzetta: “Campos is very important in my life. We have a good relationship and he pushed me to become the player I am today.”
Campos wanted to sign Osimhen for Monaco in 2015, as he once admitted: “I believe he will become one of the best strikers in the world.”
Osimhen has scored 47 goals in 85 games with Napoli and his contract at the Stadio Maradona expires in June 2025. Currently, Osimhen is the best striker in Europe and has been targeted by a number of teams. big ball.
Thanh Vu | 09:59 21/02/2023
