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Victor Osimhen, the world’s best No. 9, is leading a feverish club and city to their first Serie A title in 33 years… £100m Man United’s target is a more complete player than Erling Haaland, so good luck getting him. from Naples!
- Victor Osimhen leads the club to its first Serie A title since 1989-1990
- The Nigerian has 16 goals in 17 games this season as he nears glory
- The striker has many suitors but Napoli have already declared him not for sale
When Erling Haaland is trying to help Manchester City hunt down Arsenal on Sunday, the world’s best center forward will be 1,200 miles away, inspiring his own title challenge.
Not all Premier League fans are familiar with Victor Osimhen, but they soon will be. The Nigerian is leading Napoli to the third Serie A title in their history, and the first since the days of Diego Maradona. They are 13 points clear at the top going into Sunday’s encounter with the struggling Cremonese.
Maradona’s status in Naples has to be seen to be believed. Walk through the center of the city and you will find shrines dedicated to him. In the Spanish Quarter, the murals depicting the great Argentine take your breath away.
No footballer will be idolized in Napoli the way Maradona was, but if Napoli wins the league this season, Osimhen will be pretty close.
He may not be as prolific as Haaland, who is? – but Osimhen is a more complete number 9. Sporting a protective mask after breaking his cheekbone and eye socket in November 2021, the 24-year-old even looks like a superhero.
Victor Osimhen is leading Napoli to their first league crown since the days of Diego Maradona
Erling Haaland might be the most clinical striker, but Osimhen is the most complete player.
He has 16 goals in 17 Serie A appearances this term, but there is much more to his game. His speed terrifies defenders, as does his strength.
Unlike Haaland, he ties the game together excellently and has developed a deadly rapport with fellow attacker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, another of the best players in Europe this season.
Making his team roar off the bench after being substituted during a recent win over Roma, Osimhen proved a natural leader.
His goal in that game – controlling the ball with his chest and knee before delivering a sweet volley – was one of the best in Europe’s top five leagues this season.
Osimhen’s qualities make him the ideal number 9 in the Premier League, but it wouldn’t be cheap.
Aurelio De Laurentiis insisted this week that Osimhen was not for sale and the Napoli owner, with his impressive sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli at his side, is known as one of the fiercest negotiators in the game.
Agents and sports directors who tried, and failed, to sign stars like Kalidou Koulibaly and Dries Mertens in their prime broke out in a cold sweat recalling conversations with Napoli.
It will be no different when they come for Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia this summer.
The Nigerian has many fans across Europe, but Napoli have made it clear that he is not for sale.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis insisted he doesn’t have to sell his star players
Maradona is revered like a god in Naples: the current crop is going some way to match that status.
Given Chelsea’s nerve on the market, De Laurentiis and Giuntoli will probably think they can get half a billion for the two of them. They will no doubt be looking to double the £75m paid to Lille by Osimhen in July 2020.
“I can tell you that Osimhen is not for sale,” De Laurentiis told German publication Bild. ‘Our players are in demand, but I don’t have to sell anyone. We don’t have any debt.
Expect Osimhen, whose contract expires in two years, to come under heavy pressure from fans to sign a new deal.
However, almost every elite player today craves the challenge of the Premier League. With United and Chelsea without a number 9, it promises to be a busy summer.
One thing is for sure: a duel between Osimhen and Haaland would be something to savor.