Osimhen’s journey has been one of resilience, a never-say-die-attitude that has seen him become a fan favourite in no time.
With the best young player in world football doing his thing over in Paris, there is no better way to measure Osimhen’s growth as a footballer than seeing him compete with the adored Kylian Mbappe.
Victor bursted onto the scene to become one of the most sought after youngsters in world football when he smashed the record for most goals at an U-17 World Cup tournament, previously held by France’s once-highly-rated Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Ivory Coast’s Souleymane Coulibaly.
His 10-goals and 2 assists performance at the 2015 tournament earned him the Golden Boot and Silver Ball. With interest high following the tournament, he chose to join Wolfsburg where he felt he could continue his development with enough game time. Unfortunately, the move did not work out for him as he failed to receive adequate minutes and did not score a single goal.
In Belgium, he found redemption with Charleroi last season, scoring 20 goals in 36 appearances. He was then named club’s outstanding player of the campaign. His performances caught the eye of Lille who eventually landed him this summer to replace the Ivorian forward, Nicholas Pepe.
Ligue 1 has already gotten a glimpse of what Osimhen is capable of after his two-goal debut for Lille against Nantes during the opening weekend. Four shots, two on target, and two goals were registered for Osimhen. The performance was one that many who have followed the career of the 20-year old would not have been surprised by.
Since then, Victor has done a tremendous job for both his club and country. Coming to the aid For Nigeria against The Republic of Benin during the first AFCON 2021 qualifier as well as having a blistering impact for The Super Eagles in Maseru.
The 20-year old was responsible for Nigeria’s four goals; scoring two and registering two assists.
Meanwhile, his crazy form for the French side has prompted so many links to Europe’s big clubs like Barca, Tottenham and the likes. For more than four times this season, His goals have salvaged some crucial matches for Lille at some point.
Against Lyon, Osimhen scored the winning goal to take his team to Fifth on the log. Just last night against Brest, he took his tally to 9 Ligue 1 goals as he scored another match winning goal to take his team to 3rd on the log. His strike against Brest last night means he has now scored 5 match winning goals for Lille; a feat which only Ciro Immobile of Lazio and Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich has also achieved in Europe’s top 5 leagues.
His consistency and reliability has made his place in the Lille team unshakable as his club struggles each time he’s not on the pitch. With the rate he’s going, Osimhen will in few years to come rub shoulders with best Strikers in Eruope and thereafter, to acquire his signature will be the aspirations of Top clubs in the world. No doubt about it, Victor Osimhen is a blessing in disguise for Lille and Nigeria.
