Victor Osimhen will lead Napoli‘s attack against Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday, returning to Germany after an unsuccessful spell with Wolfsburg, which ended with a move to Charleroi and an intuition of Lille director Luis Campos.
The Nigeria international is Serie A’s leading scorer with 18 goals in 19 appearances in Italy’s top flight. He has become the first Napoli player to score in seven consecutive league matches in the three-point era.
He joined Napoli in a €75m deal from Ligue 1 side Lille in 2020, but how did his European career start?
La Gazzetta dello Sport goes through the early stages of Osimhen’s career in the Old Continent, which began in Germany, where Osimhen will play on Tuesday in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against Eintracht.
The Nigerian striker joined Wolfsburg from Nigeria’s Ultimate Strikers Academy in January 2017, but his first few months in the country were quite sad, with the Bundesliga side struggling in the relegation zone and Osimhen ‘feeling alone and isolated.’
During his unveiling press conference in 2017, Osimhen revealed that Arsenal, Inter and Fiorentina wanted him, but he picked Wolfsburg “because I feel in Germany young players are given more opportunities.”
He only remained at Wolfsburg for 18 months, scoring no goals in 16 appearances. Osimhen underwent a meniscus surgery during his time in Germany and, when he returned to action, he was stuck with Malaria.
Belgian side Charleroi loaned him in the summer of 2018, seeing him score 20 goals in 36 appearances. Osimhen could have joined Zulte Waregem or Club Brugge, but both clubs decided against signing him after his medical.
Therefore, Charleroi signed the promising striker on a permanent €3.5m transfer, but his stay in Belgium was not a long one as Lille director Luis Campos, now at PSG, secured his signature for €22.4m after selling Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal for circa €80m.
“Campos has been very important in my life,” Osimhen said in an interview a few years ago, as quoted by Gazzetta. “We are on good terms and he has motived me to become the player I am today.”
Campos already wanted to sign Osimhen for Monaco in 2015, as he also admitted. “I am convinced he will become one of the best strikers in the World,” said the ex-Lille director.
Osimhen has scored 47 goals in 85 games with Napoli and his contract at the Stadio Maradona expires in June 2025.