Goals are guaranteed by this man. He is among the world’s top strikers. Additionally, a center-forward is desperately needed by some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs. Since it’s a transfer equation, the answer ought to be fairly clear. Purchase Victor Osimhen.
Rather, following an outstanding season with Ipswich, Chelsea has already taken steps to sign Liam Delap. Hugo Ekitike, Benjamin Sesko, and Viktor Gyokeres are all being linked to moves to England as Premier League teams look to bolster this crucial position.
Osimhen is rumored to be considering a move to Saudi Arabia or possibly extending his loan at Galatasaray amid all of the rumors. He has just one year left on his Napoli contract, so a return to the Serie A winners is already out of the question.
He is still the same strong man who led Napoli to their first championship since Diego Maradona’s time. He placed eighth in the 2023 Ballon d’Or vote and was named Serie A’s player of the year. His 37 goals helped Galatasaray win a domestic double this past season.
Although it seems a little ridiculous that a player who is supposedly in his prime at age 26 might be considered too old to spend money on, Chelsea’s days of breaking the British transfer record to sign Andriy Shevchenko just before his 30th birthday are long gone.
Due to Middle Eastern interest, a deal would be costly and complicated. The less expensive options are the younger ones. They also have resale value. This does not imply that even the purchasers believe these substitutes will outperform Nigeria’s No. 9.
As Jose Peseiro’s assistant with the Super Eagles, Acacio Santos collaborated with Osimhen. He sees things clearly. Santos answers, “I respect Galatasaray, of course,” to Sky Sports. “But Victor is worthy of being in the Premier League, where he would be surrounded by light.”
The Portuguese coach witnessed firsthand what makes him unique and why he possessed the kind of personality that could lead Napoli to that momentous victory. Victor is at ease and in his own world prior to training. However, he wants to win everything when the session begins.
According to Santos, Osimhen went too far with that. “As the assistant coach, I was usually the one with the whistle, but it was amazing to watch,” he says. ‘Victor, it’s a training exercise,’ his teammates would say. “No,” he would reply, “we must win.”
Although he notes that “this is just his mentality,” he portrays a player who is “very competitive, very demanding of his colleagues”; however, Santos saw Osimhen’s other side. These attributes made it possible for him to bring players along most of the time.
“One day before the game, Vitor had a bit of a fight with Emmanuel Dennis in a seven-against-seven exercise. This player was relaxing a little bit, a bit chilled. This was normal because there was a game the next day. But Victor wanted more. He was so demanding.
“We were a little bit surprised by his attitude. It was good. We liked it. But we thought he should calm down, maybe. The next day, he scored four goals.” They came in what was a record-breaking 10-0 victory over Sao Tome and Principe in the summer of 2023.
“After scoring his four goals, suddenly we had a penalty. Everybody expected Victor to grab the ball for the fifth. The poker. But no, Victor gave the ball to Dennis, the team-mate he had fought with the day before who had never scored for the national team.
“This is an example that tells you a lot about Victor Osimhen. Instead of having five goals, he preferred to give his team-mate his first goal. Others like to talk in the dressing room. Victor is a leader through his behaviour, through his work, through his example.”
His faith in himself is remarkable. Santos believes that the ability to bounce back from a miss and continue looking for the next opportunity is one of the things that sets the best strikers apart from the rest. It has a term for it. The term “mental stamina,” he says.
“It’s the time you lose after committing an error. It is not good if you lack mental stamina because you will waste a lot of time as a result of your own error. You have strong mental stamina if you waste little time.
“This is Victor’s strength. If he makes a mistake, it doesn’t matter to him. He desires to fight once more. This is significant because it also has an impact on your biology. “Okay, I have to go and fight again, I have to do more, I cannot waste any time,” your body will begin to tell you.
Naturally, the irony is that Osimhen’s detractors, including some of his most ardent supporters, may view his career decisions to date as a waste of time. Stories about a player with extraordinary drive may not always align with the convoluted course he has taken.
Despite Santos’ description of a player who is the epitome of a center-forward—”he is also very fast and very strong physically”—even a devoted fan like his former coach can recognize that Osimhen’s career is currently at a turning point.
Although Galatasaray is a well-known team, according to the UEFA club coefficients, the Turkish Super Lig is ranked between the leagues of Czechia and Norway. He can win trophies and praise by plundering these lower leagues. Or try himself in the toughest competitions.
“His victory in Turkey demonstrates his professionalism, as defeating Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce was not an easy task. However, I have no doubt that he will have to compete in another tournament or challenge the following season. Santos contends, “Victor needs this.”
“He needs to move to a more demanding setting that will provide him with the resources he needs.” And what is that? “In order to develop as a player, he must create those challenging moments.” He will donate 120 percent of his contents if he does that.
This concept of growth is essential. Furthermore, there is a chance that no one, including Osimhen, will ever fully understand how talented he is if he does not put himself to the test soon. Santos goes on, “We told him to unleash their power, unleash their power.”
In other words, he was always pressuring Osimhen to demonstrate his abilities. “Believing that you can do even more is not the same as having confidence in your abilities. “The best illustration of that is Cristiano Ronaldo,” he says.
“Even though he was always very confident in himself, he needed Sir Alex Ferguson and then Mourinho to tell him that he could do more, accomplish more, and become even better than he had previously believed possible by adding these small ingredients.”
Osimhen still has time to demonstrate it. “People said that Ronaldo was losing his speed and agility when he was thirty years old, but he went on to score over 400 goals after that. Victor would have to be examined biologically. However, he is extremely intelligent.
There is pity if he just takes the best financial offer that is made to him because his next move could determine his legacy. Victor comes from the streets of Lagos and is a modest man. To put it another way, he could have been a little safer playing football.
However, the question still stands: what if the top striker available at the moment desired a chance at the Premier League? “He has been sighted in Turkey and Italy. In England, it would be more difficult and demanding,” Santos continues. “However, it seems like everyone wants to see him there.”