Victor Osimhen is a vibrant young talented footballer with lots of superb dribbling and passing skills. The way he rose to fame is something amazing and is worthy of emulation by other upcoming talents. Right from the onset, he has been so conservative with his lifestyle, and it has shown on his lifestyle by shrouding his family from the public eyes.
He was born on December 29, 1998, in Lagos, and hails from Edo State, Nigeria. The young talented player has made his name relevant in French Ligue 1. After the demise of his mother, his father single-handedly took care of him as being the last child amongst seven children. He has some bad times in his life, because of his poor background. As a result of this, he sold sachet water in Lagos traffic.
Personal Life of Victor Osimhen
While growing up as a kid he had a strong admiration for the Ivorien legend Didier Drogba, because he was a prolific goal poacher for both clubs and country. The reason why Osimhen admires Drogba is not far-fetched because he is a striker too. He began his career journey playing for Ultimate Strikers Academy in Nigeria before luck shone on him traveling to Wolfsburg.
Osimhen has a good height “6ft 1” that makes him a perfect threat against his opponent especially for aerial balls in their goal area. He has played for the Nigeria Under-17, and won the golden boot by scoring 10 goals throughout the tournament. At the moment, he is still single, though rumours have it that he has some affiliations with a lady named Blessing.
Facts about Victor Osimhen
- James happens to be his middle name
- The meaning of his name “Osimhen” means God is good
- He is a right-footed player
- The Nigeria indigenous rapper Olamide is his favourite artiste
- Osimhen’s is a great admirer of Alan Shearer’s quote “Football is not just about scoring goals – it’s about winning”
- He can rap too
- Osimhen is a free-spirited, and selfless person
Club Career
Wolfsburg
In January 2016, Osimhen was noticed by VFL Wolfsburg after his outstanding performance with the Nigerian team at the 2015 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. Initially, the contract was stipulated until it became a full contract on January 5, 2017, signing a three and a half year deal. Osimhen made his first appearance for his new club on May 13, 2017, as a substitute against Borrusia Mönchengladbach in which the match ended 1–1.
The following week against Hamburger SV, Osimhen came in as a tactical replacement for defender Sebastian Jung with the game ending 1–1 after a late strike from his opponent. As a result of this, his club was sent on a relegation playoff with Eintracht Braunschweig, and he was part of the second leg.
In the first half of the 2017/2018 season, he was on the squad list for the 17th matchday, and at the end of the season, he made five appearances. On January 28, 2018, Osimhen played the full 90 minutes against Hannover and his team won 1–0. Besides, he was featured against Werder Bremen on February 11, 2018, and later played against Hertha Berlin. At the end of the season, he had a surgical operation on his shoulder.
Charleroi
Wolfsburg decided to send him out on a loan deal to another club, and he went for summer trials to two different clubs – Club Brugge and Zulte Waregem. His plans went abortive due to his ill-health at that time. On August 22, 2017, he went on a season-loan deal to join the Belgian club Charleroi. Fortunately for him, he scored three goals in his first three games for the club.
Osimhen adapted very fast with his new club and also scored a brace against Zulte Waregem on October 21, 2018. Furthermore, his fine form went on as he came off the bench to score a goal against Lokeren. After his various performances, he had an interview with BBC Sport, and he disclosed it on air “I have found my happiness again”. After the first half of the season, he has scored 8 goals playing 16 games. As a result of his excellent goals, Charleroi wanted to buy him, but he left for Lille.
Lille
In July 2019 he signed a deal with a French club Lille OSC. The following month he made his first debut scoring a brace against Nantes. He performed so well that he was awarded Ligue 1 player for the month of September 2019 after scoring two goals and assisting two more goals. At the end of the season, he was Lille’s Player of the season after having the highest number of votes from fans scoring 18 goals across all competitions.
Napoli
Osimhen pressed forward by signing for Italian football club giant Napoli for a transfer fee of €70 million including add-ons rising to €80 million. According to records, it is the most expensive African player transfer to date. It didn’t take him so long to prove himself for Napoli, and he scored his debut goal against Atalanta, and the match ended 4–1 in his team’s favour.
During the African Cup of Nations qualifier, he got injured and was stretched out from the pitch on November 13, 2020, due to a shoulder injury. While recuperating from his injury, he spent time in his home country, celebrated his birthday, but something bad happened. After his vacation in Nigeria, he traveled back to Naples and was tested with Covid-19 virus. The test result alongside his injury kept him away from playing for his club till January 29, 2021, in Coppa Italia victory against Spezia.
International career
He has won both Golden Boot and Silver Ball awards playing for his country. In 2015, CAF recognized his performance and awarded him CAF Youth Player of the Year. On June 1, 2017, Osimhen made his debut with the Nigerian Senior team in a 1–0 victory against Togo. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t part of the World Cup squad list based on his inconsistency for his club (Wolfsburg).
The Nigerian gaffer Gernot Rohr was amazed at his fine form with the Belgian club Charleroi and decided to give him a chance during the international break in November 2018 against Uganda. He was on the 25-man provisional list for the AFCON 2019 and also played in a friendly match against Ukraine on September 10, 2019.
Conclusion
Osimhen is a product of perseverance and consistency to many upcoming talents wanting to be like him. His footballing career has taken several dimensions from his time at Wolfsburg to Napoli. One of the major factors to his success is hard work, and he can achieve more trophies and awards in his career.
