Victor Osimhen: the young Nigerian on a rapid rise to the top
- Published
Lille's Nigeria international Victor Osimhen is attracting the attention of some of Europe's top clubs
Nigeria international Victor Osimhen may have been named Lille's player of the season earlier this week but don't think that means the 21-year-old is satisfied with his campaign.
For when you ask his reaction, the forward's instant response is to bemoan his team's failure to secure a Champions league spot as Lille 'ended' the season in fourth.
The club were just a point behind Rennes in France, where third place secures European football at its highest level, with ten rounds left when the season was finished early because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Winning the Lille player of the season, external was not my target," Osimhen told BBC Sport Africa. "My target was to help the team finish in the Champions League spot. But I want to thank my team-mates and those who voted for me."
Osimhen netted eighteen goals and recorded six assists in 31 appearances across all competitions, with his tally of 13 league goals equal to that of Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian superstar Neymar.
In what was his first campaign in France, the Nigerian was also named in Ligue 1's team of the season.
"I'm really happy - it's a great feeling - I'm here and proving it," said the former Wolfsburg and Charleroi striker. "The league is not as easy as some people think. It's very competitive and you have to play among the best."
Such has been Osimhen's form that he is being linked with some of Europe's biggest clubs, including several leading Premier League sides, although it is a move to Italians Napoli that has been creating the most column inches in recent days.
Osinhem has denied the reports however, calling for privacy instead as he mourns his late father whose death the young Nigerian revealed late last month.
"There's a lot of fake news about me already agreeing a deal with Napoli - it's sickening," he said. "Please disregard any report of transfers involving me on the news. I want to stay mute on all these as I mourn my late father."
Osimhen shot into the limelight when starring in Nigeria's Under-17 World Cup triumph in 2015
The death of Osimhen's father, who helped his son settle into European football when travelling with him to his first club on the continent, is particularly poignant for a man who lost his mother at a young age.
The footballer grew up in Lagos, sharing one small room with his parents and siblings, and he freely admits that a young life of hardship and survival - sometimes "feeding just once a day" - motivated him to succeed.
"Whenever I'm in my free time, I reminisce on the past," he says. "My humble beginning makes me the person I am today - it's me never, never wanting to give up.
"So whenever I'm on the pitch, whenever I think about where I'm coming from, my family background, I don't want to relent - I want to make them proud and I want to give my all."
He has certainly done that so far.
Osimhen burst into the spotlight at the 2015 Under-17 World Chile as he clinched the Golden Boot and Silver Ball awards while steering the Golden Eaglets to the title.
The 16-year-old scored a tournament record 10 goals, netting in every one of Nigeria's games, in a performance that helped earn him Africa's Youth Player of the Year for 2015.
His displays in at the World Cup in Chile also earned him a move to Wolfsburg but Osimhen, who turned down Arsenal to play in Germany's Bundesliga, admits to struggling as he slowly adapted to both the league and European football.
Osimhen, 21, scored 13 goals in his maiden campaign in France's Ligue 1
After a barren season in which the striker, affected by injury, returned no goals from 16 games, he moved to Belgium where the goals soon flowed - 19 in his first campaign at Charleroi, where he was originally on loan before making the move permanent.
"I said some years back that I have a point to prove at Wolfsburg but I couldn't get the chance. Now I'm here and proving it and I'm sending messages across and a lot of them are sending me messages also, calling to congratulate me."
Last year, Osimhen joined Lille as a direct replacement for Ivorian international Nicolas Pepe, who had - unlike his replacement - decided to play for Arsenal.
Pepe - who cost the Gunners a record £72m - was Lille's player of the year award in 2019, a title Osimhen has now taken, beating off competition from Benjamin Andre and Renato Sanches to claim the individual award.
Despite his new fame, wealth and coveted status, the youngster - who made his Africa Cup of Nations debut last year - has managed to stay grounded and he says he spends much of his free time reading motivational messages on social media.
"I go to this motivational page on Instagram and save some of the important quotes that I see. In my spare time I go to my saved items and read the quotes - it inspires me," says a rising star who is already inspiring millions himself.
Additional reporting by Oma Akatugba.