VICTOR Osimhen said he knew what was going to happen before the ball had even arrived at José Fonte’s feet. There were 18 minutes on the clock in Lille’s Ligue 1 opener against Nantes last weekend when a loose ball rolled towards Fonte deep inside his own half and the Portugal centre-back walloped it high down the middle of the pitch.
Bursting between Nantes centre-backs Molla Wagué and Nicolas Pallois, Osimhen brought the ball down on his chest, nudged it away from Wagué with his left knee and then calmly rolled a shot past visiting goalkeeper Alban Lafont. As first impressions go, it could scarcely have been more impressive.
After playing for Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations, Osimhen cut short his post-tournament holiday in his homeland so he could hit the ground running at new club Lille, where he is expected to replace some of the goals lost in the departures of Nicolas Pépé and Rafael Leão. Despite having only taken part in five first-team training sessions, Loïc Rémy’s suspension meant Osimhen was thrust straight into the starting XI against Nantes.
Nantes equalised early in the second half, but Osimhen was not finished. With 10 minutes remaining, Zeki Çelik whipped a cross into the box from the right and the rangy 20-year-old pushed the ball away from Wagué at the near post before rattling a right-foot shot between Lafont and his left-hand upright. 2-1, game over.
Nicolas Pepe's replacement, Victor Osimhen, has scored twice for Lille on his debut! pic.twitter.com/jNpXvgZN7g
— Goal (@goal) August 11, 2019
Afterwards, Osimhen paid tribute to his ailing father, with whom he had spent time in Nigeria after the Africa Cup of Nations.“My father was very ill,” Osimhen said. “I’m thinking about him all the time. He’s the only treasure I’ve left at home since I lost my mother. I hope this fantastic moment will make him a bit stronger.”
Osimhen always seemed destined to score goals in one of Europe’s five major leagues. The only surprise is that it has taken him this long. At the age of 16, he lit up the Under-17 World Cup in Chile in 2015, scoring a record 10 goals in seven matches (finding the net in all of his team’s games) and helping to propel Nigeria to the title. Weeks later he claimed more international silverware with Nigeria at the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal. In January 2016 he was named the Confederation of African Football’s Youth Player of the Year.
He agreed to join Wolfsburg the same month, the German club winning the battle to secure his services after sweetening the deal by establishing a partnership with Ultimate Strikers Academy in Lagos, where Osimhen had cut his teeth as a footballer.
He officially became a Wolfsburg player on New Year’s Day 2017, three days after his 18th birthday, but a knee ligament injury meant he had to wait four months before making his debut in a Bundesliga home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach. His fitness was to prove a recurring issue during his time in Germany. He made 13 first-team appearances the following season before a dislocated shoulder brought his campaign to a premature end. Last summer he contracted malaria, forcing him to miss the beginning of pre-season.
I just hope Nigeria coach Rohr and Co are watching Victor Osimhen. Let them realize their mistake. Keep scoring bro pic.twitter.com/kj73oJdA6C
— IamIzuken (@IamIzuken) August 11, 2019
It would take a loan move to Charleroi for Osimhen’s talent to flourish again. An instant hit at the Belgian club, Osimhen scored 20 goals in 36 appearances last season and ended the campaign by being named ahead of Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho in Gernot Rohr’s Nigeria squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, where the Super Eagles finished third.
Identified as a target for Lille by talent-spotter supreme Luís Campos, Osimhen became the third Nigerian to join the club after goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and striker Peter Odemwingie, both of whom enjoyed success in northern France. After signing a five-year contract, he spoke about his desire to “follow in their footsteps”.
Lille’s hope is that he will follow in the footsteps of recent success stories such as Pépé, Leão and Thiago Mendes. In an example of the kind of shrewd business with which Campos has helped to transform the club’s fortunes, the trio were sold this summer – to Arsenal, AC Milan and Lyon respectively – for a combined profit of around €120 million. Osimhen is reported to have cost Lille an initial fee of €12 million. If he can replicate his goal tally from the Belgian Pro League, he will soon be worth many multiples of that.
“He was our priority at centre-forward,” said Lille head coach Christophe Galtier. “He’s 20 and full of energy. He can play in behind or be present in the penalty area when we’re playing in front of low blocs. He has a profile that we no longer had.”
Victor Osimhen is only the second Nigerian to score on his Ligue 1 debut since Austin Okocha (for PSG) in 1998.
Osimhen scored TWO today pic.twitter.com/pvHBn4yyGz
— I_zed (@I_zed3) August 11, 2019
Lille’s director general Marc Ingla has expressed hope that the club’s technical staff can help Osimhen to fulfil his huge potential. Rohr, his national coach, believes the explosive striker still needs to improve “his build-up play and his technical ability in tight spaces”.
“He’s a player who likes space. When there isn’t much space, he needs to learn to protect the ball better,” said the German, who gave Osimhen his senior international debut in June 2017.
With Champions League football just around the corner, following Lille’s superb second-place finish behind Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 last season, there is much for Osimhen to look forward to. For now, his only thought will be to build on his dazzling debut – starting at Amiens on Saturday.
“I’ve come from a smaller championship and I’m joining a very competitive league, one of the best in the world,” he said. “I really want to succeed here. I hope these two goals will lead to more.”
