Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is reportedly attracting interest from Premier League rivals Manchester City and Manchester United.
The 22-year-old is currently thriving under Luciano Spalletti this season, scoring nine goals in 12 appearances across all competitions, including five league strikes which has helped Gli Azzurri maintain their position at the Serie A summit.
Pep Guardiola remains in the market for a new number nine following the departure of club legend Sergio Aguero, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is also keen to bolster his attacking options.
Both head coaches are believed to be monitoring Osimhen – who is valued by club president Aurelio De Laurentiis at around €110m (£93m) – while the likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Real Madrid have also been credited with an interest.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at Osimhen's rapid rise in European football and what supporters could expect from the Nigeria international should he leave Napoli in the near future.
Background
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Born in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city, Osimhen began his youth career with the Ultimate Strikers Academy in his homeland and grew up with Didier Drogba as his footballing idol.
Several impressive performances at youth level earned him an international call up for Nigeria's Under-17s side, before he made the move to Germany where he signed his first professional contract with Wolfsburg in January 2017.
Osimhen arrived at Die Wolfe with an injury which forced him to watch on from the sidelines for four months until the penultimate game of the 2016-17 campaign, when he came on as a substitute to make his Bundesliga debut against Borussia Monchengladbach.
The striker endured a frustrating spell as a peripheral figure in the first-team squad the following campaign, failing to score and featuring for just 278 minutes. Osimhen's inability to cement his place in the starting lineup saw him loaned out to Belgian outfit RSC Charleroi, where he was able to showcase his talent, netting 20 goals in 36 games across all competitions.
This brilliant temporary spell away from Wolfsburg caught the eye of Ligue 1 side Lille, who spent around £20m to land the Nigerian on a five-year contract in the summer of 2019.
Form with Lille and Napoli
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Osimhen made his name in European football with Lille, where he elevated his game to new heights with several standout performances in front of goal during the 2019-20 campaign.
The Nigerian did not have to wait long to get his career in the French top flight up and running, netting a brace on his debut for Les Dogues in a 2-1 win over Nantes, before scoring his first Champions League goal in a 2-1 defeat at home against Chelsea.
At just 20 years of age, Osimhen went on to score 18 goals in 38 matches across all competitions for Lille and was voted as the club's Player of the Season by the fans. Lille were keen to keep hold of Osimhen in the summer of 2020, however a club-record offer of €81.3m (£68.6m) from Napoli was too good to turn down, a deal which made the striker the most expensive African footballer of all time.
Several injuries and contracting coronavirus in the first half of the 2020-21 campaign, reduced Osimhen to just nine appearances before the turn of the year, however the forward was able to finish the campaign with 10 Serie A strikes to his name.
Following the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku to the Premier League over the summer, question marks were raised as to who would take on the goalscoring mantle in Serie A, and Osimhen is seemingly a strong candidate, having already netted five times in nine league appearances.
The 22-year-old has also scored four times in just three starts in the Europa League – form which is attracting interest from several elite clubs ahead of the upcoming transfer window.
International experience
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After impressing in the Ultimate Strikers Academy as a teenager, Osimhen was handed his first international call up for the Under-17s side, who won the 2015 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Chile.
Osimhen won the Golden Boot after scoring 10 goals in just seven appearances, six more than any other player, and he also received the CAF Youth Player of the Year award in 2015.
In 2017, the striker made his senior debut for Nigeria in an international friendly against Togo, but he had to wait two years before scoring his first goal for the Super Eagles in a 2-2 draw against Ukraine.
Along with Kelechi Iheanacho and Ahmed Musa, Osimhen is now considered as one of the nation's most important attackers after netting 10 times in 19 appearances, including four goals in six 2022 World Cup qualification matches.
Oliver Thomas
