The arrival of Victor Osimhen in early 2020/21 broke Napoli’s transfer record. Partenopei reportedly poured funds of around 70 million euros to hook the Nigerian attacker. Osimhen is expected to follow in the footsteps of Gonzalo Higuain and Edinson Cavani as no. 9 prolific in Naples.
The player also showed a promising initial impression. He scored two hat-tricks while Napoli underwent a series of pre-season trials. In Serie A, Osimhen scored his first goal when his team silenced Atalanta 4-1. From the initial six matches, the former LOSC Lille bagged two goals and one assist for Gennaro Gattuso’s squad.
However, Osimhen’s adaptation to his new club has been stalled since November. The player who was born in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, suffered a shoulder injury while defending his country. This injury made Osimhen out for two months and missed 14 matches.
In January 2021, the player was infected with the corona and at the same time stumbled on an disciplinary case. He was caught violating the COVID-19 protocol while celebrating a birthday. Although Osimhen admitted that he did not know anything about his birthday party plans, Napoli punished him with a fine. When facing Atalanta, last February 21, Osimhen suffered a head injury that required him to be hospitalized. The injury kept him out for 11 days and missed three matches, including the Europa League Last 32 return leg against Granada.
In total, Osimhen spent 94 days or three months recovering. He missed 23 games due to injury in his debut season. In the 2020/21 Serie A, Osimhen has only played 16 games, nine as starters, with a total playing minutes of 1,002 minutes. After suffering an injury, Osimhen also tried to get up for Napoli. Gradually, he was removed from the bench against Bologna, AC Milan and AS Roma in March. He managed to score one goal in these three matches.
Osimhen was then called up by Gernot Rohr to strengthen Nigeria in African Cup qualifiers. This 22-year-old player scored one goal when the Super Eagles silenced Lesotho, March 30, 2021. Osimhen has finished his recovery period and is starting to put on his best form. Upon his return from the international break, Osimhen impressed for Napoli. He has scored two goals and an assist in the Partenopei’s last three matches.
Napoli themselves need the striker’s neat appearance to qualify for the Champions League zone. Now, with eight giornata remaining, Gattuso’s foster children are still two points adrift of Atalanta in fourth place. This club also still has to face tough opponents for the rest of the season, including Inter Milan, Lazio, as well as Fiorentina and Torino who are trying to stay away from the relegation zone.
Gattuso wants the player to fill the spearhead post. The former AC Milan midfielder tends to rely on a 4-2-3-1 system this season. Osimhen is projected to be a center forward who leads Napoli’s attack line.
“He [Gattuso] supported me and pushed me to the maximum, trying to do my best. I want to repay him for the trust he has shown, “said Osimhen to Brila. In the transfer window last summer, Victor Osimhen was one of the names that big clubs were fighting for. Chelsea and Manchester United are reportedly targeting him.
“Gattuso and Giuntoli [Napoli’s sporting director] wanted him [Osimhen]. They convinced me to invest 70 million euros plus a bonus worth 10 million. If we also consider salaries, this transfer exceeds 100 million [euros], “said President of Napoli, Aurelio De Laurentiis quoted by ESPN. A commitment of that magnitude is certainly not going to be made by Napoli for random players. Last season, Osimhen proved that he is a great talent who has tune in to European football. He scored 18 goals in Lille’s 38 games before the season was suspended due to the pandemic.
Before trying out the French League, Osimhen performed well with Sporting Charleroi who competed in the Belgian Pro League. He scored 20 goals in 36 appearances for the Belgian club. Charleroi and Lille were the turning points for Osimhen after struggling at VfL Wolfsburg. In Germany, he failed to show his best for two seasons.
Osimhen’s own talent was widely monitored before he left for Europe. This Ultimate Strikers Academy graduate appeared stunning when strengthening Nigeria at the 2015 U-17 World Cup. He contributed to bringing the young Super Eagles to win the competition. Osimhen also became the top scorer with 10 goals, breaking the record for most goals in one edition of the U-17 World Cup. Osimhen has the attributes needed to become a fully qualified striker. He is physically strong and reliable in duels. With experience, he also developed ball retention techniques which made him difficult to win.
Apart from that, he is also able to run fast. This ability makes him suitable to be the figure who sticks to the last defender. Osimhen tends to stick to the defensive line and try to break the offside trap. Osimhen can be a powerful counter attack outlet. This was shown when Napoli silenced Bologna, 7 March. In that match, Osimhen scored the Partenopei’s second goal on the counter. He positioned himself at the front of the Bologna defense. As Napoli grabbed the ball, Piotr Zielinski sent a through ball into the empty space. Osimhen defeats opposing defenders in a sprint. He then sent a shot over with his right foot. The shot was not too heavy, but was directed and lodged in the far post.
That style of finishing has been synonymous with him since defending Charleroi and Lille. Osimhen tries to beat the goalkeeper with accuracy, not strength. The player who idolizes Didier Drogba is a penalty box predator. Four of his five goals in Serie A 2020/21 were scored from inside the box of 16 fitting.
At Napoli, Osimhen tends to play like a poacher. He has the potential to become an influential striker in bridging the game, such as Olivier Giroud or Romelu Lukaku. However, his poor passing skills and immature vision kept him from doing it. Osimhen is rarely involved in the wake of Napoli’s attack. On average, he only makes 15.1 passes per game, the lowest in Napoli’s squad. Goalkeepers Alex Meret and David Ospina had even higher pass rates. Osimhen only recorded a passing accuracy of 69%.
His average passes sent towards him are also just 21 per game, the second lowest in the Partenopei squad. Even then, only 46.9% were successfully accepted. However, that doesn’t mean Osimhen’s role is completely absent from Napoli’s attack – apart from being a goalscorer, of course. Despite recording a low pass frequency, Osimhen still tries to serve his colleagues if the firing space is closed. He averages 1.26 key passes per match. So far, he has made two assists in Serie A.
His movements also often open space for explosive attackers like Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Hirving Lozano. If you look at Osimhen’s heat map, it can be seen that the player often descends and moves to both wings. On top of that, Osimhen has a work ethic that Gattuso loves. Like most modern strikers, he is required to actively help with the pressing of the first line. Osimhen was diligent with pressing. He is willing to work hard at pressing defenders, averaging 10.2 presses in the final third per game.
Osimhen himself showed a talent for being a target man. His ball retention ability makes him able to withstand the pressure of opposing defenders and wait for his teammates to reposition themselves. At 186cm tall, the player can also be a dangerous hull bait outlet.
The ability to pass and play vision are two things that Osimhen must develop to become a key player for Napoli. These two aspects will complement his calm finishing and good ball-free movement. Sky Sports Italia Pandit, Alessandro Bonan said that Osimhen could be “Lukaku for Napoli”. “They are two ‘universal’ strikers. Within them you have physical strength, running ability, interpretation of [space], as well as technical abilities. In my opinion, Osimhen can be Napoli’s Lukaku, “said Bonan.
Lukaku is, without a doubt, the best striker in Serie A this season. He played a crucial role in the Inter Milan game which was almost certain to win the Scudetto. Lukaku is the player with the highest direct goal involvement (30) in Serie A 2020/21, scoring 21 goals and assisting nine. Osimhen is certainly still far from Lukaku’s level. However, he had the talent and potential in that direction. The striker clearly has to work hard to develop his game.
In an injury-plagued debut season, Osimhen failed to make a significant impact. Amid Napoli’s efforts to catch up to the top four, the player still has eight weeks to show his capacity and at the same time make up for missed opportunities due to injury.
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