Player biography
Victor Osimhen was born in Lagos, Nigeria on December 29, 1998. He began his career with Ultimate Strikers Academy, a youth football team in his hometown.
Born in Nigeria, Osimhen began his senior career in Germany with VfL Wolfsburg in 2017. After a season and a half at the club, he moved to Belgian side Charleroi on loan in 2018–19 before moving to France, in Lille . He made his European football debut for the French club during the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League . In 2020, Osimhen transferred to Serie A club Napoli for a club record fee of €70 million. He won the Serie A Best Young Player award for the 2021–22 season, and in the following season he helped the club win their first Serie A title in 33 years . He is the African with the most goals scored in Serie A and currently holds the record for the most goals scored by an African in a single season.
Osimhen won the Golden Boot award at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup , won by Nigeria. He made his senior international debut in June 2017 and played at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations . He is currently the fourth highest scorer of all time for the Nigerian national team.
He placed 8th in the 2023 Ballon d'Or awards held in Paris, France and became the first Nigerian to be in the top ten of the Ballon d'Or . On 11 December 2023, Osimhen was awarded the African Men's Player of the Year at the 2023 CAF awards night, the first Nigerian since Kanu Nnamkwo in 1999.
Professional career of Victor Osimhen
Victor Osimhen at Wolfsburg
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| Victor Osimhen at Wolfsburg |
Osimhen began his professional career with Germany's Wolfsburg in 2017. He joined the club aged just 18, after excelling at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Osimhen officially signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club, which lasted until June 2020. On 13 May, Osimhen made his Bundesliga debut for Wolfsburg, in the game against Borussia Mönchengladbach which ended in a draw. Osimhen also arrived the following week, in a decisive draw against Hamburger SV, in what was the final matchday of the 2016–17 Bundesliga. . Osimhen was in the squad for both games, receiving a cameo role at the end of the second leg, with Wolfsburg's participation in the next Bundesliga confirmed as they won 2–0 on aggregate.
In his first season at Wolfsburg, Osimhen played 27 games and scored 5 goals. He began to stand out in the 2018-19 season, when he scored 12 goals in 33 games.
However, Osimhen suffered a knee injury in February 2019, which sidelined him for six months. He returned to play in August 2019, but was unable to maintain the same level of performance.
After the 2018–19 season, Osimhen was loaned to Belgian side Charleroi for one season. At Charleroi, he scored 10 goals in 29 games.
Victor Osimhen at LOSC Lille
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| Victor Osimhen at LOSC Lille |
In July 2019, Osimhen was transferred to Lille, in France, for 22.4 million euros. At Lille, he quickly became one of the team's key players.
On 11 August 2019, Osimhen made his Ligue 1 debut with Lille OSC, scoring a goal against Nantes.
In his first season at Lille, Osimhen scored 18 goals in 38 games, helping the club win the Ligue 1 title.
Victor Osimhen at Napoli
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| Victor Osimhen at Napoli |
In September 2020, Osimhen signed with Napoli , the Italian team spent around 70 million euros to have the Nigerian in its squad until 2025. He debuted on September 20, 2020, in a duel against Parma for the Italian Championship.
He scored his first goal for the Italian club on October 17, 2020, in a 4–1 defeat of Atalanta .
At Napoli, he continued to excel, scoring 12 goals in 24 games in the 2020-21 season.
In the 2021–22 season, Osimhen scored 14 goals in 32 games. He also helped Napoli reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League.
In the 2022-23 season, Osimhen was the competition's top scorer, with 26 balls in the net, he was absolute in the most decisive moments of the season. He managed a sequence of 17 goals scored in 15 rounds, with 10 goals in eight consecutive rounds.
Individual achievements and awards
Naples
- Italian Championship: 2022–23
Nigeria
- FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2015
Individual awards
- FIFA U-17 World Cup Golden Boot: 2015
- FIFA U-17 World Cup Silver Ball: 2015
- CAF Young Player of the Year: 2015
- Ligue 1 Player of the Month: September 2019
- Serie A Player of the Month: March 2022, January 2023
- Serie A Goal of the Month: January 2023
- Best Young Player of Serie A: 2021–22
- Best Striker in Serie A: 2022–23
- Time ideal Serie A: 2022–23
- African Footballer of the Year: 2023
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