Napoli star Victor Osimhen has been in scintillating form in Serie A and beyond this season so far. The Nigerian striker has bagged 10 goals in 13 games to lead the league’s goalscoring charts and help Napoli to the top of the league, and he is currently averaging a goal every 108 minutes in Italy. Not even halfway through the season the 24-year-old is already just five goals away from bettering his goal return last season, scoring 14 in 27 which was a career high.
His electrifying form for The Parthenopeans since he burst onto the scene in 2020 has led to his name being linked with big moves to some of the biggest clubs in Europe. In the sports betting, Napoli are favourites to make good on their performances so far and secure the Serie A title this year.
After bagging more than a handful of goals so far it seems that Osimhen is due for a huge season, but could he be on the move at the culmination of Serie A? He could be on the wishlist for many managers this summer or maybe even this month with the January transfer window now open. But where could he go and how would he fare?
English Premier League
The Premier League is undoubtably the biggest league in the world in terms of viewership. Broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people, it is the most popular league across all sports in the world and Osimhen may well value the chance to showcase his skills to an even wider audience. A division known for its physicality and pace, the 6 ft 1 in striker would likely fare well against opposing defenders.
His ability to beat offside traps with intelligent runs behind the lines would make him a credit to the spearhead of any attacking line in the league, but where would he be most likely to go? There seems an obvious answer so far with his name already being linked with a move to giants Manchester United, following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Manager Erik Ten Hag has made it clear that a striker is on the top of his transfer wishlist in the summer and Osimhencould well be their man.
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga style is slightly more expansive than the Premier League with a mixture of physical, technical and attacking styles. Osimhen would likely settle in well to the more attacking sides. He actually started his pro career in Germany with VFL Wolfsburg, but never really got kicking before moving on to Lille in Ligue 1. With more experience and a more refined technique, now could be the time for Osimhen to return and put things right.
Despite boasting huge teams such as Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and more recently RB Leipzig, the German Bundesliga has been dominated by Bayern Munich for a decade now. Die Roten have won 10 of the last 10 league titles and look set to make it 11 this year, topping the table at the time of writing. However, they are notably without an out and out number 9 and the Nigerian star could fill that gap with a world class supporting cast of Sadio Mane, Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry to provide for him.
La Liga
La Liga may be the most technically sound league in the world in terms of the talent pool and style of play. A host of extremely skilled passers and dribblers such as Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Pedri and Vinicius Jr light up the league every week. This may be where Osimhen would not fare as well. Whilst he displays good technique, his main asset as a striker is spearheading attacks behind the lines and the slower build up play of top teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona are less likely to accent his skillset.
However, he may be well suited to Diego Simeone’s rigid, defensive style where his pace could help hit teams on counter attacks. The Argentinian manager has valued big, physical centre forwards with the likes of Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata starring under him at Estadio Metropolitano. Whilst his workload would heavily increase, there is unlikely to be a better fit for him in Spain than with Colchoneros.
Ligue 1
Another one of Osimhen’s former homes, France is where he got his first real start on the big stage. In his sole season with Lille he managed an impressive 13 league goals in 27 appearances before making the move to Napoli. A league that values athleticism, Osimhen is a great fit. His intelligence in breaking lines to get through on goal is perfect for their style of play and he’d no doubt bag goals wherever he went. However therein lies the problem.
Napoli are known for being tough negotiators and are unlikely to let Osimhengo for much less than 100 million euros. The only team in the league who could afford that kind of transfer outlay is PSG and with a frontline of Neymar, Mbappe and Messi it is near impossible to see him getting in ahead of any of them.
