Nigerian international football player Victor Osimhen recently played down talks of his possible move away from Italian Serie A side Napoli.
Victor Osimhen is a Nigerian international men’s professional football player who currently plays at club level for Italian Serie A side Napoli. In the summer of 2022, there was lots of talk surrounding his future and a possible move to the English Premier League amid interest from Arsenal and Manchester United.
He has just returned from a hamstring injury and will face Cremonese away in the league on Sunday, October 9th. The question being asked here is should Victor Osimhen look to move away from Napoli next summer?
Who is Victor Osimhen?
The 23-year-old striker was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1998. He began his career at the Ultimate Strikers Academy before joining Vfl Wolfsburg in 2017. He also had a brief spell on loan at Charleroi before moving to Lille and playing for the French side from 2019-2022. His sensational move to Napoli was finalised in July 2020 when the Italian giants paid a club-record fee of €70 million for the striker, which would eventually rise to €80 million when you include the add-ons. The move also saw him become the most expensive African transfer in history.
He was part of the winning team in the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2015, and he made his debut for his country’s senior team in 2017. Osimhen was in the Nigerian side that came third in the African Cup of Nations tournament (AFCON) in 2019, and since making his international debut, he has played 22 games for Nigeria, scoring an impressive 15 goals. At club level, he has made 56 appearances for Napoli, scoring 26 goals across all competitions. He has just bounced back from a hamstring injury and will be looking to add to his tally in the current 2022/23 Serie A campaign.
Should Osimhen leave Napoli?
Napoli are currently sitting at the top of Serie A, and they are also at the top of group A in the UEFA Champions League, so it might be a silly move to leave Napoli while they are riding so high. If they carry on with the way they are playing at the moment and keep getting the results they need, they could end up winning the league and winning the Champions League. If they do win both, then you would have to ask, why would a player want to leave a club that has achieved so much?
However, if the results don’t go Napoli’s way, and the right club comes knocking and offers even more money, there would be nothing in the way of stopping the player from joining another club. Only time will tell what he will do.
How likely is it that Osimhen will stay, and can Napoli do the ‘double?’
It seems as though Osimhen will stay at Napoli for the foreseeable future, or at least until the end of this current season or when his contract expires. If you’re wondering whether Napoli can win the double (the Serie A league title AND the Champions League), the best thing to do would be to look to the major sports betting sites to see what kind of odds they are currently offering for Napoli.
At a domestic level, most sites have Napoli as joint favourites to win the league along with AC Milan. Both clubs are currently priced at around +250 (which is 5/2 in UK fractional odds, or 3.50 in European decimal odds). If you live in Ghana, for example, and fancy placing a wager on Napoli, or Victor Osimhen, real money online betting in Ghana is now possible over at 10Bet Africa – one of Africa’s most trusted online sports betting sites. It’s free to sign up to, and the app can be downloaded and installed onto most smartphone and tablet devices in just seconds.
Despite the club being in fine form, many online sportsbooks currently have them priced as SEVENTH odds-on favourites to win the Champions League, which is behind Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester City, despite Napoli doing so well in the group stage. The average odds of Napoli winning the Champions League are around +2,700 in American/Moneyline odds (or 25/1 in fractional odds, and 26.00 in decimal odds).
Napoli’s recent results and upcoming fixtures
Let’s start by taking a quick look at how Napoli are doing in the Champions League. In their first group stage match, they beat Liverpool 4-1 at home. They then went on to beat Rangers 3-0 away before beating Ajax 6-1 away. This means they have 9 points from 3 games, having won all three, scored 13, and let in just 2 goals. In Serie A, they have played 8, won 6, drawn 2, and lost none, scoring 18 and letting in 6 goals (which gives them a +12 goal difference). They have 20 points, and so does Atalanta, but Atalanta are slightly behind on goal difference (+9). In some of the most notable league wins, they beat Lazio 2-1, Spezia 1-0, Milan 2-1, and Torino 3-1.
On Sunday, October 9th, as mentioned, they play away to Cremonese before a home game against Ajax in the Champions League on October 12th. Their next Serie A outing is on Sunday, October 16th, at home to Bologna, and then on October 23rd, they travel to Roma. If you watch any of these upcoming games, don’t forget to keep an eye out for Osimhen, who will no doubt shine.
