Victor Osimhen: the young Nigerian on a rapid rise to the top
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 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."
§ Osimhen excited to join Lille project
§ Wolfsburg in deal for Nigeria starlet Osimhen
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.