Victor James Osimhen (born 29 December 1998) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Napoli and the
Nigeria national team .[1]
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.[2][3][4][5]
VfL Wolfsburg
On 5 January 2017, Osimhen officially signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the club, lasting until June 2020.[6][7] Out with an injury upon his arrival, [8] 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 .[9] 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. [10] 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 in 2 May, ending his season with 12 appearances in the Bundesliga to his name. [11]
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. [12] 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. [13] He replaced the departed Kaveh Rezaei , who was sold to Club Brugge after scoring 3 goals in the first three games of the season. [14] 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 .[15] 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 3–2 win over Zulte Waregem on 21 October, after Hamdi Harbaoui had given Waregem a 2–1 lead with a second half brace. [16] 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". [17] 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. [18]
Lille
In July 2019 he signed for Lille OSC.[19][20]
On 11 August 2019, Osimhen made his Ligue 1 debut for Lille OSC, scoring a brace against
Nantes . The match ended 2–1 in favour of Lille. [21]
He 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. [22] He scored his first goal in the
UEFA Champions League on 2 October 2019, coming in a 1–2 defeat to English side
Chelsea .[23]
Due to his excellence performance he has been tipped to win the African Player of the year soon [24]
The Nigerian finished the season scoring 13 goals in 25 Ligue 1 matches, finishing the season as their top scorer. [25]
Napoli
On 31 July 2020, Serie A club Napoli announced the signing of Osimhen. [26]
International career
Osimhen was named to the 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.[27][28] His performances also earned him the CAF Youth Player of the Year award in 2015. [29] Osimhen made his senior debut for Nigeria in a 3–0 friendly win over Togo on 1 June 2017.[30]
Osimhen missed out on Nigeria's 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign after his inconsistent season at Wolfsburg.[15] Following a successful start to his loan spell at Charleroi , he was recalled by Gernot Rohr for the November 2018 international break, [31] starting their friendly win over Uganda. [17]
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. [32]
Osimhen was listed in coach Gernot Rohr's 25-man provisional list for 2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt [33] and was further listed in the final list for the tournament. [34][35] In the match for third place, he replaced the injured Odion Ighalo at half-time in the team's 1–0 victory over Tunisia.[36] He played a total of 45 mins at the tournament[37]
On 14 August 2019, the coach of the Nigerian National 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.[38] He was also included in the Super Eagles team to face Brazil in a friendly match in Singapore on 13 October 2019.
[39]
Career statistics
Club
As of match played 8 March 2020[40]
Club Season League Do
Division Apps Goals App
VfL Wolfsburg 2016–17 Bundesliga 2 0 0
2017–18 10 0 1
Total 12 0 1
Charleroi (loan) 2018–19 Pro League 25 12 2
Lille 2019–20 Ligue 1 27 13 6
Napoli 2020–21 Serie A 0 0 0
Career total 64 25 9
- ^ Includes DFB-Pokal , Belgian Cup, Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue .
- ^ Includes UEFA Champions League and
UEFA Europa League. - ^ Includes Bundesliga relegation play-offs and Belgian First Division A playoffs.
International
As of matches played on 17 November 2019[41]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Nigeria 2017 1 0
2018 1 0
2019 7 4
Total 9 4
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first.
List of international goals scored by Victor Osimhen
No. Date Venue Opponent Scor - 10 September 2019 Dnipro-Arena ,
Dnipro , Ukraine Ukraine 2–0 - 13 November 2019 Godswill Akpabio International Stadium ,
Uyo , Nigeria Benin 1–1 - 17 November 2019 Setsoto Stadium ,
Maseru , Lesotho Lesotho 3–1 - 4–1
Honours
International
Nigeria U17
FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2015[27]
Individual
FIFA U-17 World Cup Golden Boot: 2015[28]
FIFA U-17 World Cup Silver Ball : 2015[28]
CAF Youth Player of the Year : 2015[29]
UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: September 2019[42]
Prix Marc-Vivien Foé: 2020[43]
Lille Player of the Season: 2019
