Osimhen grew up in the Lagos neighborhood of Olosun, home of the largest open-air dump in Africa, and helped his family stay afloat by selling bottled water on the streets. At a time when other strikers were gaining valuable training sessions and world-class coaching, Osimhen worked hard to make ends meet, following his mother’s death and his father’s dismissal from his job as a police officer. Nevertheless, he never gave up his dream of becoming a footballer, and in the U-17 World Cup, his dream finally came to fruition.
Alongside an attack featuring Samuel Chukwueze and Kelechi Nwakali, Osimhen scored in each of Nigeria’s matches to amass a total of 10 goals, powering the Golden Eaglets to the trophy as the Golden Boot winner. To this day, nobody besides Osimhen has ever netted double figures for their nation across a U-17 World Cup.
His goal-scoring figures propelled manager Samson Siasia to start him in next month’s U-23 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Final, which would also be won by Nigeria. The likes of Inter, Dortmund and Arsenal showed a strong interest in the teenage striker, but it was Wolfsburg who managed to pry him away.
He officially joined the German club on January 5, 2017, but his start to life in Europe came to an abrupt halt just weeks later; the €3.5 million new arrival, who had completed surgery on his knee just two months prior, was forced to undergo a meniscal procedure that would rule him out until the penultimate Bundesliga match of the season.
Osimhen made his full debut nearly a year after joining, leading the line against Hannover. But he only managed two more starting appearances for Wolfsburg, with new manager Bruno Labbadia opting mainly for veterans.
At 19 years old and with only 333 minutes of club football under his belt, Osimhen decided to head west for greener pastures, trying out for several Belgian clubs. Malaria had weakened his body to the point where neither Club Brugge nor Zulte Waregem were willing to take him on loan. Instead, it would be Charleroi who took a chance on him, signing him on loan with a purchase option for €3.5 million.
Osimhen took the opportunity by the scruff of his neck, scoring 19 goals in 30 appearances and winning Charleroi’s Player of the Season award. The club just barely missed out on a spot in the Europa League play-offs, after Antwerp came from behind to earn a spot in the ensuing qualifiers.
Nonetheless, this would not dissuade Lille from signing him to replace the departing Leão, and it’s thanks to this signing that despite a substandard start to the season, Lille still have a decent chance of beating out a staggeringly weak group of contenders and securing Champions League football for next season.
It didn’t take long for him to open his tally under Christophe Galtier, with the Nigerian registering 9 goals and 2 assists by the end of October. He went on to score lots of crucial goals for Lille.
Apart from carrying Lille up top, Osimhen has also filled the sizeable shoes of Odion Ighalo, who retired from international duty after last summer’s semi-finals exit. During last month’s qualifiers for the 2021 AFCON, Osimhen netted the equalizer against Benin and fired in a brace against Lesotho, as the Super Eagles retained leadership of Group L.
His performances in the league and Champions League have brought about several potential suitors, such as Barcelona, Chelsea, Arsenal and Napoli.
Today, He joins the Naples on a club record fee of €50 million with ad ons.
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